Alg17 v Minister for Home Affairs

Alg17 (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Home Affairs (the respondent) to refuse to grant protection visas. The applicant had previously applied for protection visas, which were refused. The applicant's subsequent applications for protection visas were found to be invalid by operation of section 48A of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The application was heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the respondent had made a jurisdictional error in deeming the applicant's second protection visa applications invalid under section 48A of the *Migration Act*. This section generally prevents a non-citizen who has had a visa refused or cancelled from applying for a further visa while remaining in Australia, with limited exceptions. The applicant contended that the circumstances of their case fell within an exception or that the application of section 48A constituted a jurisdictional error.

Judge Humphreys reasoned that section 48A of the *Migration Act* clearly applied to the applicant's situation, as they had previously had protection visas refused and were seeking to make further applications while remaining in Australia. The court found no evidence to suggest that any of the exceptions to section 48A were applicable. Consequently, the respondent's decision to treat the subsequent applications as invalid was not a jurisdictional error. The court therefore dismissed the applicant's application.