Opetaia (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the matter of Opetaia, concerning the cancellation of a Special Category (Temporary) (Class TY) visa, subclass 444. The applicant sought a review of this cancellation, but the central dispute revolved around the payment of a mandatory review fee and the Tribunal's power to waive it.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed the jurisdiction to consider the applicant's review application when the required fee had not been paid, and whether it had the authority to waive that fee under the relevant migration legislation.

The Tribunal reasoned that the legislation mandated the payment of a fee for a review application, even if that fee was reduced. As the applicant had not paid the required fee, their application for review was deemed invalid. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked the necessary jurisdiction to proceed with the review of the visa cancellation.

The Tribunal therefore made no order on the merits of the visa cancellation, as it had no jurisdiction to hear the application.