AJW18 v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, AJW18, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before Judge Burchardt of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the primary decision-maker had made an error in assessing the applicant's claims of persecution, specifically in relation to the credibility of the applicant's account and the assessment of the risk of harm should the applicant be returned to their country of origin. The Court was required to determine if the decision was affected by an error of law, including whether the decision-maker had failed to properly consider relevant evidence or had applied the correct legal standards.

Judge Burchardt reasoned that the primary decision-maker had failed to adequately assess the applicant's credibility, particularly in relation to certain inconsistencies in their account. The Court found that the decision-maker had not properly engaged with the applicant's explanations for these inconsistencies, thereby failing to give them due consideration. This failure led to an erroneous assessment of the risk of persecution. The Court applied the principles of administrative law, emphasizing the obligation of decision-makers to conduct a thorough and fair assessment of all relevant evidence and to provide adequate reasons for their findings.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for redetermination according to law.