1905046 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of decisions made by a delegate of the Minister to refuse to grant a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV). The dispute concerned two separate SHEV applications made by the applicant, one in 2017 and a subsequent one in 2020. The court was required to determine the validity of the second SHEV application and, if valid, to review the delegate's refusal of that application. The court also had to consider the review of the refusal of the first SHEV application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's second SHEV application was valid, given that section 48A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) imposes a bar on further applications in certain circumstances. The Tribunal also had to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), specifically whether he was a refugee or met complementary protection grounds, or was a family member of such a person.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's first SHEV application, lodged in 2017, was valid. Consequently, the applicant was not permitted to make a second SHEV application under section 48A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). As the second application was invalid from its inception, the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to review the delegate's refusal of that application. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the first SHEV application, finding no evidence that the applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the Act, nor under section 36(2)(b) or (c) as a family member.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate’s decision dated 26 April 2018 to refuse to grant the applicant a SHEV (Tribunal review case number 1905046). The Tribunal set aside the delegate’s decision dated 15 February 2022 to refuse to grant the applicant a SHEV (Tribunal review case number 2202283) and substituted it with a decision that the associated SHEV application was not valid.