BESTER (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Bester, against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirming the refusal of a Partner (Migrant) (Class BC) visa, Subclass 100. The Department of Home Affairs had initially refused the visa application due to a lack of evidence demonstrating a genuine and continuing spousal relationship.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the AAT had erred in law by failing to adequately consider the additional information provided by the applicant after the initial refusal, which the applicant contended corroborated the genuineness of their relationship. Specifically, the court was required to determine if the AAT's assessment of the evidence was reasonable and if it had properly applied the relevant legislative criteria for a Partner visa.

The court found that the AAT had failed to properly consider the additional evidence submitted by the applicant, which included documents that could have corroborated the existence of a genuine and continuing spousal relationship. The AAT's decision was therefore vitiated by an error of law, as it had not undertaken a comprehensive review of all the evidence before it. The court quashed the AAT's decision and remitted the matter to the AAT for redetermination according to law.