Behrooz & Ors v Secretary, DIMIA

The applicants, Behrooz and others, sought judicial review of decisions made by the Secretary of the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) concerning their applications for protection visas. The dispute centred on the lawfulness of the Minister's decision to refuse to grant the protection visas, which was based on the applicants' alleged failure to satisfy the criteria for a protection visa under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). The matter was heard by the High Court of Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Minister's decision to refuse the protection visas was vitiated by an error of law. Specifically, the Court considered whether the Minister had failed to take into account relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the applicants' claims for protection, and whether the Minister's assessment of the applicants' credibility was so unreasonable that it could not be justified by the evidence. The Court also examined the proper interpretation and application of the criteria for a protection visa, particularly in relation to the risk of persecution.

The Court's reasoning involved a detailed analysis of the evidence presented by the applicants and the Minister's assessment of that evidence. The majority of the Court found that the Minister's assessment of the applicants' credibility was not so unreasonable as to constitute an error of law. The Court affirmed the principle that a decision-maker is entitled to make findings of fact and draw inferences from the evidence, provided those findings and inferences are open on the evidence. The Court also considered the standard of review applicable to such decisions, emphasising that judicial review is concerned with the legality of the decision-making process, not with substituting the court's own view for that of the decision-maker.

The High Court dismissed the applications for judicial review, finding no error of law in the Minister's decisions to refuse the protection visas.