Arq18 v Minister for Immigration & Anor (No.2)

Arq18 (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Anor (the respondent) concerning a protection visa application. The applicant's application had been dismissed by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia for non-appearance at its final hearing, pursuant to rule 13.03C(1)(c) of the *Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before Dowdy J was whether the dismissal of the applicant's protection visa application for non-appearance was a jurisdictional error. This involved considering the proper application of rule 13.03C(1)(c) and whether the circumstances warranted such a dismissal, particularly in the context of a protection visa application.

Dowdy J reasoned that the dismissal of the applicant's protection visa application for non-appearance constituted a jurisdictional error. The Court found that the rule allowing for dismissal due to non-appearance must be applied with caution, especially in matters involving protection visas where the consequences of dismissal are significant. The Court determined that the applicant had not been afforded a proper opportunity to be heard, and the dismissal was therefore invalid.

The Court ordered that the decision dismissing the applicant's protection visa application be set aside and remitted to the Federal Circuit Court for re-hearing.