Singh v Minister for Immigration

Singh sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) that it lacked jurisdiction to review the Minister's delegate's refusal to grant him a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) (Subclass 801) visa. The AAT's determination was based on Singh's application to the Tribunal having been lodged outside the 21-day time limit prescribed by s 347(1)(b) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and reg 4.10 of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

The central legal issue before Dowdy J was whether the AAT had made a jurisdictional error in finding that it had no jurisdiction to hear Singh's application due to the late lodgement. Singh contended that such an error had occurred.

Dowdy J reasoned that the AAT's finding of no jurisdiction was correct. The statutory time limit for lodging an appeal to the AAT under s 347(1)(b) of the *Migration Act* is a condition precedent to the AAT's jurisdiction. As Singh failed to meet this condition, the AAT correctly concluded that it had no power to entertain his application for review. No jurisdictional error was identified.

Consequently, Singh's application for judicial review was dismissed.