AAF18 v Minister for Home Affairs

In AAF18 v Minister for Home Affairs, the applicant, a citizen of Sri Lanka who arrived in Australia as an unauthorised maritime arrival, sought judicial review of a decision by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to affirm the refusal of his Safe Haven Enterprise Visa. The applicant had claimed fear of harm due to an illicit relationship with the daughter of a Muslim Provincial Council Minister in Colombo, past incidents of violence against him and his family, his Tamil ethnicity, and his status as a failed asylum seeker, including being an imputed LTTE supporter. The delegate for the Minister had initially refused the visa, a decision subsequently affirmed by the IAA.

The Federal Circuit Court was required to determine whether the IAA's decision was affected by jurisdictional error. The applicant advanced grounds of review alleging jurisdictional error, bias through the ignoring of relevant materials, and the identification of a wrong issue on a wrong question. The applicant also sought to introduce further evidence through affidavits concerning the situation in Sri Lanka for young Tamils, the clash between Muslims and Sinhalese people, and a more detailed elaboration of his claims regarding imputed LTTE support.

Judge Kendall dismissed the applicant's originating application. The Court found that the applicant had not demonstrated jurisdictional error on the part of the IAA. The applicant's grounds of review, including allegations of bias and the IAA identifying a wrong issue, were not substantiated. The Court implicitly determined that the IAA had properly considered the relevant materials and issues before it in accordance with its statutory obligations. The applicant was ordered to pay the first respondent's costs.