AM & MM

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia, comprising Kay, Coleman, and Boland JJ, considered an appeal concerning the interpretation and application of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and related regulations. The dispute arose from a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a visa to the applicants, AM and MM, on grounds related to character and security concerns. The applicants sought judicial review of this decision, which was subsequently dismissed by a single judge, leading to the present appeal.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the Minister had properly exercised their non-compellable discretion under s 48B of the *Migration Act* and whether the delegate's decision to refuse the visa was affected by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the delegate had failed to consider relevant considerations or had taken irrelevant considerations into account when assessing the applicants' eligibility for a visa, particularly in light of adverse information provided by security agencies. The Court also examined the proper application of the character provisions within the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

The Full Court's reasoning focused on the principles of administrative law, particularly the requirement for decision-makers to undertake a proper, rational, and lawful assessment of the evidence before them. The Court held that the delegate's decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error because it failed to adequately address the specific concerns raised by the security agencies and did not properly engage with the discretionary power vested in the Minister. The Court emphasised that while the Minister's discretion is broad, it must be exercised according to law and cannot be abdicated to the views of other agencies without independent consideration. The Court found that the delegate had impermissibly fettered their discretion by treating the security advice as determinative, rather than as one factor among others to be weighed.

Consequently, the Full Court allowed the appeal, quashed the delegate's decision, and remitted the matter to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.