ATD19 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The appellants, a mother and her son, appealed against the decision of a Federal Circuit Court judge to dismiss their application to set aside the decisions of the delegate and the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to refuse their application for Special Humanitarian Visas (SHEV). The appellants, who claim to be stateless Faili Kurds, arrived in Australia by boat in 2013 and applied for SHEVs in 2017. The delegate refused the application on the basis that the first appellant was not a credible witness and did not accept her claim of statelessness. The IAA also refused the application, and the appellants appealed to the Federal Circuit Court. The primary issue before the court was whether the IAA erred in not finding that it acted unreasonably in failing to invite the first appellant to an interview under s 473DC of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The court found that the failure to invite the first appellant to an interview was not unreasonable in the circumstances. The court also considered whether the IAA’s decision was affected by apprehended bias, where irrelevant and prejudicial material was placed before the IAA. However, the court found that the IAA gave no weight to the material and there was no apprehension of bias. The appeal was dismissed and the appellants were ordered to pay the Minister’s costs of the appeal.