Xu v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

In the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, Judge Manousaridis considered an application by the applicant, Mr. Xu, seeking an extension of time to apply for judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal had affirmed a decision to cancel Mr. Xu's Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs was the first respondent.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether an extension of time to seek remedies under section 476 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) was necessary in the interests of the administration of justice. This required the Court to determine if Mr. Xu had provided an adequate explanation for his delay in filing the application and whether the grounds he intended to rely upon in his substantive application had any arguable merit.

Judge Manousaridis reasoned that the applicant had not provided an adequate explanation for the delay in filing his application for judicial review. Furthermore, the Court found that the applicant's submissions regarding his adaptation to Australian life and his desire to pursue a career in building in Australia related only to the merits of the visa cancellation itself, and did not raise any arguable case of jurisdictional error. Consequently, the Court was not satisfied that extending the prescribed 35-day period was necessary in the interests of the administration of justice.

The Court ordered that the application for an extension of time pursuant to section 477(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* be dismissed. The applicant was also ordered to pay the first respondent's costs in the amount of $3,606, a sum the Court found to be a fair measure of the Minister's costs.