Plonsker and Secretary, Department of Employment & Workplace Relations

This matter concerned an application by Ms Plonsker for an extension of time to lodge an application for review of a decision by the Secretary, Department of Employment & Workplace Relations. The substantive application sought to challenge a decision to refuse to re-credit Ms Plonsker's HELP balance with amounts paid for vocational education and training (VET) assistance in respect of three VET units of study, which she had successfully completed. The Secretary opposed the extension of time application, arguing that the substantive application had no utility and therefore no prospects of success. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) heard the application for an extension of time.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it should exercise its discretion under subsection 29(7) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) to extend the time for Ms Plonsker to lodge her substantive application for review. This required the Tribunal to be satisfied that it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant the extension. The Tribunal considered several factors in making this assessment, including the length of the delay, the explanation for the delay, the preliminary merits of the substantive application, prejudice to the respondent, whether the applicant had rested on her rights, and the public interest.

The Tribunal found that the delay of two days was very short and weighed in favour of granting the extension. Ms Plonsker's explanation for the delay, involving travel in Europe with communication difficulties, financial issues upon return, and job searching, was accepted by the Tribunal. However, the Tribunal also considered the merits of the substantive application, noting that it was not appropriate to conduct a detailed analysis but rather to form a preliminary impression of the prospects of success. The Tribunal's reasoning on this point, and the ultimate outcome of the application, are not fully detailed in the provided text.