AXL18 v Minister for Home Affairs

In the Federal Court of Australia, Justice Young considered the application of AXL18, a non-citizen, for judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Home Affairs. AXL18 sought to challenge the lawfulness of their continued detention.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's decision to continue AXL18's detention was vitiated by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Minister, or their delegate, had failed to consider relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when making the detention decision, thereby rendering it unlawful.

Justice Young reasoned that the Minister's delegate, in assessing AXL18's detention, had failed to adequately consider the applicant's submissions regarding their personal circumstances and the potential for their continued detention to be disproportionate or unreasonable. The Court applied the principles of administrative law, emphasizing that a decision-maker must genuinely consider all relevant material put before them. The failure to do so constituted a jurisdictional error, as the delegate had not exercised their power according to law.

Consequently, Justice Young found the Minister's decision to continue AXL18's detention to be unlawful and ordered that AXL18 be released from immigration detention.