AEX19 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The case of AEX19 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs involved the appellant, a Sri Lankan national, appealing against the decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to affirm the decision of the delegate not to grant him a protection visa. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia had dismissed the appellant's application for judicial review. The appellant sought leave to rely on new grounds of appeal before the court, including the IAA's failure to properly evaluate new information against specific statutory criteria before concluding that exceptional circumstances did not exist to warrant considering that information.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the IAA had properly evaluated the new information provided by the appellant against the criteria of section 473DD(b)(i) and (ii) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) before concluding, under section 473DD(a), that exceptional circumstances did not exist to justify considering that information. The court was also required to determine if the appellant should be granted leave to rely on grounds not raised in the proceeding below.

The court found that the IAA had not properly evaluated the new information against the statutory criteria, instead reaching a final conclusion on the truth of the appellant's claims without determining whether the information was credible. This indicated that the IAA had not undertaken the evaluation required by section 473DD(b)(ii) and had therefore erred in law. The court was satisfied that the ground of appeal was strongly arguable and that it was in the interests of justice to grant leave for the appellant to rely on this ground. The court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders of the Federal Circuit Court, and issued a writ of certiorari and mandamus directing the IAA to review the decision according to law. The first respondent was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.