BDY18 v Minister for Home Affairs

The applicant, BDY18, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Home Affairs to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute centred on whether the Minister's decision was affected by jurisdictional error. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister, in considering BDY18's application for a protection visa, had failed to take into account relevant considerations and had taken into account irrelevant considerations. This involved an examination of the scope of the Minister's obligations under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the principles of administrative law concerning jurisdictional error.

Judge Kendall found that the Minister's delegate had failed to adequately consider the applicant's claims regarding past persecution and the real chance of future persecution in their country of origin. The delegate's assessment was found to be superficial and did not engage with the specific evidence provided by BDY18. The Court reiterated the principle that a decision-maker must genuinely consider all relevant material and that a failure to do so constitutes jurisdictional error.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.