BCD17 v Minister for Immigration

BCD17 (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Immigration Assessment Authority (the Authority) affirming the Minister for Immigration's decision not to grant the applicant a Temporary Protection visa. The application was brought under section 476 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The applicant contended that the Authority had made a jurisdictional error by issuing an invalid certificate purportedly under section 473GB of the Act, and by reviewing a decision that the applicant argued was a nullity. The matter was heard by Judge Manousaridis in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether the Authority committed a jurisdictional error in issuing the certificate under section 473GB of the Act, and whether the Authority acted outside its jurisdiction by reviewing a decision that the applicant asserted was a nullity.

The Court reasoned that the applicant's claim that the Authority's decision was a nullity was a matter to be determined by the Authority itself in the first instance. The Authority was empowered to review its own decisions, and the applicant's assertion that the underlying decision was a nullity did not divest the Authority of jurisdiction to consider that very point. Furthermore, the Court found that the certificate issued under section 473GB was valid, and therefore the Authority had not acted outside its jurisdiction in issuing it. The Court applied the principle that a body with statutory power to review a decision must be permitted to do so, even if the applicant alleges the decision under review is a nullity, as the determination of that nullity is part of the review process.

The application was dismissed.