Behrooz & Ors v Secretary DIMIA

The applicants, Behrooz and others, sought judicial review of decisions made by the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) to refuse their applications for protection visas. The Federal Court of Australia was tasked with determining the lawfulness of these decisions.

The central legal issue before the Full Federal Court was whether the delegate of the Minister, in assessing the applicants' claims for protection visas, had failed to consider relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations. Specifically, the court had to determine if the delegate's assessment of the applicants' claims of persecution was vitiated by an error of law, thereby rendering the refusal decisions invalid.

The court's reasoning focused on the principles of administrative law, particularly the duty to consider all relevant material and to disregard irrelevant material when making a decision. Gummow, Kirby and Hayne JJ found that the delegate had failed to properly consider the evidence presented by the applicants regarding their fear of persecution. The court held that the delegate had, in effect, disregarded significant portions of the applicants' evidence and had made findings of fact that were not supported by the material before them. This failure to properly engage with the evidence constituted an error of law, as it meant the delegate had not undertaken the task required by the legislation.

Consequently, the Full Federal Court allowed the appeals, quashed the decisions of the delegate refusing the protection visas, and remitted the applications to the Secretary of DIMIA for reconsideration according to law.