Bhullar v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

The Federal Court of Australia dealt with a case involving Gurlaal Preet Singh Bhullar, an Indian national, who sought judicial review of the decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to uphold the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship’s cancellation of his visa. Bhullar, who has a criminal record including convictions for serious offences, had his visa cancelled under the Migration Act 1958 on the basis that he failed the character test. Bhullar appealed to the AAT, which affirmed the decision. The key legal issues before the Court were whether the AAT had erred in its decision-making process and if the Court should grant Bhullar an extension to file his application beyond the statutory time limit. The Court found that while Bhullar's application was late, his delay was reasonable due to the misleading information provided by the Court Registry. Despite granting an extension to file the application, the Court found no jurisdictional error in the AAT's decision and dismissed Bhullar's application with costs. The Court held that the AAT had adequately considered Bhullar’s arguments, including the impact of his medical condition and the effect on his son, but ultimately determined that the risks Bhullar posed to the community outweighed these factors.