Okeke v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

Okeke (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which found it lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine his application for a skilled visa. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (the respondent) was the opposing party. The dispute arose because the applicant failed to pay the full prescribed fee for his application for review to the Tribunal within the stipulated timeframe.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the Tribunal erred in law by concluding it had no jurisdiction to proceed with the applicant's review. This required determining whether the applicant's payment of the fee outside the prescribed period, or the Tribunal's acceptance of a reduced fee, had any bearing on the Tribunal's jurisdictional competence to hear the substantive application.

Justice Egan found that the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and associated regulations clearly stipulated that the prescribed fee, or a reduced fee approved by the Tribunal, must be paid within the specified period for the Tribunal to have jurisdiction. As the applicant did not meet this requirement, the Tribunal correctly determined that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the application. The court held that no jurisdictional error had been established.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.