Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a migration matter involving an applicant seeking review of a decision concerning a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) visa (Subclass 187). The central dispute revolved around the timeliness of the applicant's application for review.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant's application for review was lodged within the prescribed time limit, and consequently, whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the matter. A further issue was whether the Tribunal possessed any discretion to extend the time for lodgement.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 494C of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), the applicant was deemed to have been notified of the decision on 24 May 2017. This deemed notification meant the period for lodging a review application expired on 14 June 2017. As the application was received on 17 June 2017, it was lodged out of time. The Tribunal concluded it lacked jurisdiction and had no discretion to extend the lodgement period. The Tribunal also determined it was not reasonable to defer its decision pending the outcome of a separate nomination review application, as the timeline for that matter was uncertain.