Gudla (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) considered the application of Gudla for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. The central dispute concerned whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review application, given the applicant's location at the time of lodgement.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was within the migration zone at the time their review application was lodged on 23 July 2021. This determination was crucial for establishing the Tribunal's jurisdiction under section 347 of the relevant migration legislation.

The Tribunal found, based on the Department's movement records, that the applicant had departed Australia on 20 March 2020 and remained offshore thereafter. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant was not in the migration zone when the review application was lodged. As the application for review was not properly made under section 347, the Tribunal determined that it lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the matter. The Tribunal therefore made no order on the merits of the visa application itself, as jurisdiction was not established.