Matthews (Migration)

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) which found it lacked jurisdiction to consider an application for review of a visa decision. The applicant had lodged a second review application with the MRT, but the delegate's decision on the initial visa application had not yet been made at the time of the second review application.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Migration Review Tribunal possessed jurisdiction to review a visa decision that had not yet been made by the relevant delegate. This question turned on the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) concerning the Tribunal's review powers.

The Court, referencing the decision in *SZMBM v MIAC* [2008] FMCA 529, held that the Migration Review Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to review decisions that were prospective or might be made in the future. The Court reasoned that the Act did not confer upon the Tribunal the power to entertain applications for review of decisions that had not yet been finalised by the primary decision-maker. Consequently, the Tribunal correctly determined that it lacked jurisdiction in this matter.