Basnet v Minister for Home Affairs

Basnet (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) which dismissed his application for review of a decision made by the Minister for Home Affairs. The Tribunal's dismissal was based on the applicant's non-appearance at a scheduled hearing.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the Tribunal had committed jurisdictional error in dismissing the applicant's case for non-appearance, particularly in light of an interlocutory dismissal of a show cause application. The court also considered whether any legal error established by the applicant was material to the Tribunal's decision.

Justice Driver found that while the Tribunal may have made an immaterial legal error in its handling of the show cause application, this error did not amount to jurisdictional error. The court noted a history of non-engagement by the applicant in the proceedings. Given the applicant's failure to appear at the hearing and the lack of any application for reinstatement, the court concluded that no arguable case of jurisdictional error had been made out.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.