SZMEM v Minister for Immigration & Anor

In the Federal Court, the applicant, SZMEM, appealed against the decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (the Tribunal) to dismiss his application for review of a decision to refuse a protection visa. The applicant claimed that he was being persecuted in China due to his religious beliefs. The Tribunal found it had no jurisdiction to review the decision as the applicant’s application was made outside the required time limits. The applicant argued that his agent had committed fraud, causing the delay in making the application to the Tribunal. The applicant also contended that he had notified his agent of a change of address and that his agent should have notified the Department of the change.

The primary issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal had correctly found that it had no jurisdiction to review the decision to refuse a protection visa. The Court was required to determine whether the applicant had demonstrated that the delay in making the application was caused by fraud on the part of his agent, and whether this constituted exceptional circumstances that justified the late application. The Court was also required to consider whether the applicant had notified his agent of a change of address and whether the agent had notified the Department of the change.

The Court found that the Tribunal had correctly found that it had no jurisdiction to review the decision to refuse a protection visa. The Court held that the applicant had not demonstrated that the delay in making the application was caused by fraud on the part of his agent, as there was no evidence to support this claim. The Court found that the applicant had not notified his agent of a change of address and that there was no evidence to suggest that the agent had notified the Department of the change. The Court held that the Tribunal’s finding that it had no jurisdiction to review the decision was not affected by these issues.

The Court dismissed the application and upheld the decision of the Tribunal.