Applicant M70 of 2002 v MIMIA & Anor

The applicants, M70 of 2002 and another, sought judicial review of decisions made by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (MIMIA) and another respondent. The dispute concerned the lawfulness of the Minister's decisions regarding the applicants' immigration status. The matter came before the High Court of Australia, constituted by Hayne and Callinan JJ.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Minister's decisions were vitiated by a failure to afford the applicants procedural fairness. Specifically, the applicants contended that they were not given adequate notice of the adverse information that the Minister proposed to rely upon in making their decisions, nor were they given a sufficient opportunity to respond to that information.

The Court considered the principles of procedural fairness, particularly in the context of administrative decision-making affecting individuals' rights and interests. It was held that where an administrative decision-maker proposes to make a decision adverse to a party based on information that the party has not had an opportunity to address, procedural fairness generally requires that the party be informed of the substance of that information and be given a reasonable opportunity to present their case in relation to it. The Court found that the Minister's decisions in this instance did not meet this standard, as the applicants were not adequately informed of the adverse material and were not afforded a proper chance to respond.

Consequently, the High Court found that the decisions of the Minister were unlawful and ordered that the applications for judicial review be upheld.