Fissal and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for an extension of time by Mr Fissal, who sought to appeal a decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs concerning his citizenship. The delegate's decision was dated 26 June 2020, and Mr Fissal sought to extend the time to apply for a review of this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant Mr Fissal an extension of time to lodge his application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider the principles governing such applications, including the significance of the delay, the acceptability of the explanation for the delay, and the overall fairness to the parties involved.

The Tribunal found that the delay in lodging the application was not inordinate, and that Mr Fissal had provided a satisfactory explanation for the delay. Applying the principles of fairness and reasonableness, the Tribunal concluded that it was appropriate to grant the extension. Consequently, the Tribunal extended the time for Mr Fissal to apply for a review of the delegate's decision until 6 November 2020, pursuant to section 29(7) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth).