Case Law Updates

Federal Court (Full Court). Does the High Court's decision in Plaintiff M1 detract from the proposition that certain matters in Direction 90 were mandatory considerations which had to be considered even if no representations were made about them, lest the decision-maker make a jurisdictional error? Does the assessment of the materiality of an error made under s 501CA(4) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) involve a balancing, instead of binary, exercise?

Federal Court. For the purposes of s 501CA(4) and Direction 79, can the "circumstance that a father does not disclose the existence of his natural children ... be taken into account in determining where the best interests of the children may lie"? If the non-citizen has minor children in Australia, but does not make their best interests part of his/her claim, does the AAT nevertheless have an obligation to consider those interests if it is aware of the existence of the children? Does that obligation arise if the non-citizen is not the parent of the children? If not, does that obligation nevertheless arise if "there are a number of additional circumstances known to the [AAT that indicate that the children in question] may be affected by the decision"? Further, did the AAT misinterpret cl 14.2(1)(b) of Direction 79?

Federal Court (Full Court). If a visa applicant wrongly answers a question in a visa application form and in a subsequent visa application freely answers the same question correctly, could the latter answer be said to indicate that the incorrect answer did not involve purposeful falsity for the purpose of PIC 4020? Does the fact that the IELTS exam on which the Appellant's score was 7 suggest that the Appellant knew the meaning of the legal term "conviction"?

High Court. Is a visa refusal by reason of ss 501 or 501A a decision under s 65? Is PIC 4001 "void for uncertainty because it used the expression "character test" without definition"? Are delegates "bound by a prior, internally recorded view" about whether visa criteria were met? Can a s 65 officer refer an application for a decision under s 501? Can a single decision under s 65 be segmented into various discrete decisions? Are the Minister's powers under ss 501(1) and 501A(2) "spent ... if a visa should have otherwise been granted under s 65, but has not been granted"? Did the Minister have jurisdiction to make a decision under s 501A(2) even if the decision of the Tribunal was invalid?

Federal Court. Was the Applicant a non-alien who was not subject to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), with the result that his detention under s 189(1) of the Act was unlawful, because: he was "accepted by the Australian body politic and community as a citizen ...; the fact that he renounced that citizenship in 1995 does not change his non-alien status"; or "he has the essential characteristics of a non-alien, based on a holistic assessment of his circumstances"?

Federal Court. Could the applicant’s representations in relation to rehabilitation "be properly engaged with if he relied on evidence of having completed six separate courses (plus counselling) and the Tribunal only took account of the evidence relating to three of those courses"? In assessing whether an error is material, should it be assumed that the administrative decision-maker approached the review with an open mind?

Federal Court. Can it be said that, “in order to make a decision in accordance with law on the remittal of a matter it is necessary, in the sense required by the doctrine of necessity as an exception to the bias rule, that the differently constituted IAA be provided by the Secretary (under s 473CB(1)(c) of the Migration Act) with a copy of the judgment or judgments identifying the legal error which vitiated the first decision of the IAA”?

Federal Court: in the context of merits review of a non-revocation decision under s 501CA(4) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), can it be said that any departure by the original decision-maker from his or her notification obligations under s 501G(2)  would result in invalidity of a merits review application, "without consideration of the extent and consequences of the departure"?

MARA. Does the lodgement of skills assessment applications or EOIs constitute immigration assistance? Can RMAs be sanctioned for that type of work?

Federal Court (Full Court). In order to comply with s 494D of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), does Form 956 need to state that the authority conferred is for the Minister to give documents to the authorised recipient, instead of the person concerned? Did Form 956 authorise an agent to receive communications from the Department about the revocation of visa cancellation, even though it only indicated that assistance was provided with an "application process"?