AWT15 v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application brought by AWT15 against the Minister for Immigration. The dispute revolved around a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The case was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether the Tribunal's decision was affected by jurisdictional error, which would permit the Federal Circuit Court to exercise its jurisdiction to issue constitutional writs, notwithstanding the privative clause contained within the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Specifically, the court considered whether the Tribunal had failed to consider relevant evidence or had otherwise made an error of law that vitiated its decision.

The court reasoned that while section 474 of the *Migration Act 1958* renders decisions of an administrative character made under the Act final and conclusive, this protection does not extend to decisions affected by jurisdictional error. Drawing on *Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Yusuf* (2001) 206 CLR 323, the court affirmed that jurisdictional error occurs when an administrative tribunal identifies a wrong issue, asks itself a wrong question, ignores relevant material, relies on irrelevant material, or makes an erroneous finding or mistaken conclusion in a way that affects the exercise of its powers. Such errors mean the tribunal has exceeded its authority. The court also noted, citing *Applicant WAEE v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs* (2003) 75 ALD 630 and *Muralidharan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs* (1995) 40 ALD 265, that a tribunal is not obliged to refer to every piece of evidence or contention, and the absence of a specific reference does not necessarily mean evidence was ignored. However, the court found that even if certain evidence had been overlooked, this would not necessarily constitute jurisdictional error.