FAHME v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application for judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in *FAHME v Minister for Immigration*. The applicant sought to challenge the AAT's determination that it lacked jurisdiction to review a delegate's decision. The dispute arose from the applicant's late lodgement of his application for review with the AAT.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the AAT had erred in law by finding it did not have jurisdiction to consider the applicant's application for review. This involved determining the correct date on which the applicant was taken to have been notified of the delegate's decision, and consequently, whether the application for review was lodged within the prescribed time limit. The applicant also raised issues concerning the conduct of his migration agent and his understanding of the delegate's decision and the review process.

The court considered the AAT's finding that the delegate's decision was emailed to the applicant's authorised recipient on 18 December 2015, which meant the 21-day time limit for lodging an application for review expired on 8 January 2016. The AAT had informed the applicant that his application, lodged on 8 February 2016, was out of time. The applicant, in a subsequent letter, contended that he was not informed of the delegate's decision until 28 January 2016 and that the delay was due to the migration agent's poor performance. The court noted the applicant's assertions regarding the migration agent's alleged failure to request necessary documents and to inform him of communications with the Department.

The AAT had notified the applicant by email on 7 March 2016 that it did not have jurisdiction to review his application. The applicant's subsequent letter, dated after 11 March 2016, detailed his grievances regarding the migration agent and his understanding of the timeline. The court was required to assess whether these assertions, if accepted, could vitiate the AAT's jurisdictional finding.