Shen (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute concerning Business Skills (Provisional) visas for applicants who were outside the Migration Zone. The applicants sought review of a decision, but the Tribunal's jurisdiction to hear the matter was in question.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to review the decision, which depended on whether the applicants had made a "properly made" application under section 347 of the relevant migration legislation. This, in turn, hinged on whether the applicants were within the Migration Zone at the time they lodged their application for review.

The Tribunal found that the Department's movement records indicated the applicants were outside Australia as at 11 October 2017. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal concluded that the applicants were not in the Migration Zone at the relevant time. Consequently, the application for review was not considered properly made under section 347, and the Tribunal determined it lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the matter.