Federal Court (Full Court). Do the same principles of statutory interpretation apply to the interpretation of a Ministerial direction? Should cl 14.4(1) of Direction No 79 be interpreted literally? Was it for the Tribunal to come to its own view as to the materiality of its own errors?
Some of the questions to the Full Court of the Federal Court (FCAFC) were as follows:
Question 1: Do the same principles of statutory interpretation apply to the interpretation of a Ministerial direction?
Question 2: Cl 14.4(1) said that, in the context of making a decision under s 501CA(4) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) whether to revoke the mandatory cancellation of a visa, decision-makers should consider the "impact of a decision not to revoke on members of the Australian community" (emphasis added). Should cl 14.4(1) be interpreted literally? Or should it rather be interpreted as requiring decision-makers to consider the impact of revoking (as opposed to not revoking) a visa cancellation?
Question 3: Was it for the Tribunal to come to its own view as to the materiality of its own errors?
The FCAFC answered those questions as follows: