DRA16 v Minister for Immigration

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for an extension of time under section 477 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by the applicants, DRA16 and others, who sought to appeal a decision of the Minister for Immigration. The applicants had delayed lodging their application for review by approximately 20 months.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants had provided an acceptable explanation for the significant delay in filing their application for review. The Tribunal also considered the nature of the grounds of review, which were described as unparticularised, and whether any jurisdictional error had occurred.

Judge Hartnett reasoned that an acceptable explanation for a delay requires more than mere assertions; it necessitates a detailed account of the reasons for the delay and evidence to support those reasons. In this instance, the applicants failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the 20-month delay, and their grounds of review lacked the necessary particularity to demonstrate a arguable case or the existence of jurisdictional error. Consequently, the Tribunal found no basis to grant the extension of time.

The application for an extension of time was dismissed.