Axe16 v Minister for Immigration and Anor (No.2)

This matter concerned an application for judicial review of a decision by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to refuse a protection visa to the applicant, Axe16. The applicant claimed to fear harm in Afghanistan, and while the IAA accepted that the applicant's fears were genuine, it found them not to be well-founded. The application was heard by Judge Driver in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the IAA had erred in its consideration of the applicant's internal relocation options within Afghanistan, and whether the IAA had failed to properly consider or exercise its power to obtain new information relevant to the applicant's claim. The applicant contended that these alleged errors constituted jurisdictional error.

Judge Driver found that the IAA had not committed jurisdictional error. The Court reasoned that the IAA was entitled to consider internal relocation as part of its assessment of whether the applicant's fears were well-founded, provided that such consideration was undertaken in accordance with the relevant legislative framework. Furthermore, the Court determined that the IAA had adequately considered its powers regarding the obtaining of new information and had not acted unlawfully in its approach.

The application for judicial review was therefore dismissed.