BKK17 v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, BKK17, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) concerning their application for a Protection visa. The delegate of the Minister for Immigration had initially refused the visa application, but the IAA subsequently relied on information that had not been considered by the original delegate when affirming that refusal.

The central legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the IAA's decision to rely on information not previously considered by the delegate, in the context of its review under section 473DC of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), was reasonable. This involved an examination of the scope of the IAA's powers and the procedural fairness obligations owed to the applicant.

Justice Riethmuller found that the IAA had acted unreasonably in relying on new information without affording the applicant an opportunity to respond to it. The Court held that while the IAA is not bound by the specific information considered by the delegate, it must still act procedurally fairly. This includes providing the applicant with notice of, and an opportunity to comment on, any adverse information that the IAA proposes to rely upon in making its decision. Consequently, the application for judicial review was allowed.