BMY18 v Minister for Home Affairs

The applicant, BMY18, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to dismiss their application for a Protection (Class XA) visa. The AAT had found the application to be out of time. The central dispute concerned whether the Tribunal had afforded BMY18 procedural fairness in its determination of the application.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the AAT had breached its duty to provide procedural fairness to BMY18. This involved considering whether BMY18 was given adequate notice of the case against them and a sufficient opportunity to respond, particularly in relation to the timeliness of their visa application and the potential consequences of that delay.

Judge Humphreys found that the AAT had failed to provide procedural fairness. The Tribunal had not adequately informed BMY18 of the specific reasons why their application was considered to be out of time, nor had it provided a sufficient opportunity for BMY18 to make submissions addressing these concerns. The Court held that a failure to provide adequate notice and opportunity to be heard on a critical issue, such as the timeliness of an application, constitutes a breach of procedural fairness. Consequently, the Court quashed the AAT's decision and remitted the matter to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.