1508053 (Migration)

The applicant, Mr. Alan Duri, sought judicial review of the decision of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse his application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa. The dispute centred on whether the Minister had properly considered the best interests of Mr. Duri's child, who was a Australian citizen, in making the visa refusal decision. The matter came before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister, in assessing Mr. Duri's visa application, had given adequate consideration to the best interests of his Australian citizen child, as required by s 47(1)(c) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the principles established in *Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v Thiyagarajah* [2017] FCAFC 196. This involved determining whether the child's best interests were a "real consideration" and not merely a "tick-box exercise."

The Court found that the delegate's decision-making process did not adequately reflect that the best interests of the child were a real consideration. While the delegate acknowledged the child's citizenship and the existence of a parental relationship, the assessment failed to engage with the specific implications for the child of the applicant's potential removal from Australia. The Court emphasised that a proper consideration of the child's best interests requires a qualitative assessment of the impact on the child, not just a perfunctory acknowledgement of their existence.

Consequently, the Court set aside the delegate's decision and remitted the matter to the Minister for redetermination according to law.