Awon v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

The case of Awon v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection involves a Pakistani citizen, Awon, who appealed against the decision of the Federal Circuit Court which upheld the refusal by the Migration Review Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction in reviewing a decision made by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The primary issue in the appeal was whether the Tribunal had erred in finding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the decision due to the application for review being lodged out of time. The appellant argued that the actions and advice of his migration agent, Ms Yang, amounted to fraud on the Tribunal, which could potentially mitigate the time bar.

The Federal Circuit Court found that Ms Yang had made a mistake and had not deliberately attempted to commit any fraud on the appellant or the Tribunal. The Court of Appeal considered three grounds of appeal, one of which challenged the finding that Ms Yang's failure to comply with the Code of Conduct for registered migration agents did not constitute unlawful behaviour or fraud on the Tribunal. The Court held that Ms Yang's conduct was indeed unlawful as she failed to act in accordance with the Code and section 314 of the Migration Act 1958, but this did not equate to fraud on the Tribunal. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the Minister’s costs of and incidental to the appeal. The name of the second respondent was also amended to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.