AJS19 v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, AJS19, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning their application for a partner visa. The AAT's decision was influenced by the applicant's prior conviction for contravening a family violence order, which engaged section 116 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before Judge Hartnett in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the AAT had committed a jurisdictional error in its assessment of the applicant's case, and consequently, whether a writ of certiorari should issue to quash the AAT's decision. Furthermore, the Court was required to consider whether a writ of mandamus should issue, directing the AAT to reconsider the application according to law.

Judge Hartnett found that the AAT had indeed made a jurisdictional error. The Court's reasoning focused on the AAT's failure to properly consider the evidence and submissions relating to the applicant's rehabilitation and the specific circumstances surrounding the family violence order contravention. The legal principle applied was that a failure by an administrative tribunal to properly apprehend and apply the relevant legal tests, or to adequately consider material evidence, can constitute a jurisdictional error, vitiating the decision.

Consequently, the Court ordered that a writ of certiorari issue to quash the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. A writ of mandamus was also ordered, directing the AAT to re-examine the applicant's partner visa application according to law.