Lee and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Lee for an extension of time to lodge an application for review of a decision made by the Department of Social Services. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) was required to determine whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant this extension. The Respondent opposed the application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to exercise its discretion under s 29(7) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) to extend the time for Mr Lee to lodge his application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider various factors, including the length of the delay, the explanation provided for the delay, whether Mr Lee was aware of his appeal rights and had rested on them, any prejudice to the Respondent or the public, and the merits of the substantive application.

The Tribunal applied principles derived from case law, including *Hunter Valley Developments Pty Ltd v Cohen* and *Re Mulheron*, which outline non-exhaustive guidelines for exercising this discretion. These principles include considering the applicant's awareness of appeal rights, any prejudice to the respondent or public, and the merits of the substantive application. In this instance, Mr Lee's application was lodged over 250 days outside the prescribed 28-day period. The Tribunal found his explanations for the significant delay, which included overseas travel and freelance work, to be insufficient. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that Mr Lee had not demonstrated awareness of his appeal rights or taken steps to contest the decision-maker.

Given the substantial delay, the lack of a satisfactory explanation, and the absence of evidence that Mr Lee had not rested on his rights, the Tribunal concluded that it was not reasonable to grant an extension of time. Accordingly, the application for an extension of time was refused.