Decision and context
In Razwantee v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] FCA 1649, O'Sullivan J refused an extension of time on 3 November 2026. The proposed challenge concerned ART affirmation of a section 501(1) Bridging E refusal.
Why the application failed
The Court accepted that initial filing mistakes by the former solicitor should not prejudice the applicant, but found later delay inadequately explained. Absence of prejudice to the Minister did not determine the balance. The lack of merit in the proposed grounds carried significant weight.
The proposed character grounds
The Court rejected a linear relationship between intended stay length and reoffending risk, and found more than formulaic Tribunal reasoning. Bound by Full Court authority, it also rejected treating section 501 as a single power preventing reliance on the same offending after an earlier cancellation was revoked.
Practical lesson
Check jurisdiction, forms and deadlines immediately; explain the whole delay and identify an arguable legal error. The case concerns historical Direction 110 and does not establish current visa eligibility. See [14]–[38], [45]–[60] and [61]–[71].