BOF18 v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application for judicial review of a decision made by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA). The applicant sought to challenge the IAA's refusal to consider new information provided during the review of a decision by a delegate that rejected his application for a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa. The application was heard by Judge Brown.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the IAA had failed to properly construe and apply section 473DD of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) to the new information submitted by the applicant. Specifically, the applicant contended that the IAA had misinterpreted the requirement of "exceptional circumstances" under section 473DD(a) and had adopted an inappropriately narrow view by considering only the matters outlined in section 473DD(b). The applicant also argued that the IAA's reasoning for rejecting the new information was irrational.

The court examined the new information, which included statutory declarations from the applicant and his former foreman concerning an alleged visit by the Taliban/Pashtuns to the applicant's workshop and the abduction of the foreman. The applicant argued this information constituted "new information" under section 473DC(1) and satisfied section 473DD(b)(i) as it could not have been provided to the Minister prior to the delegate's decision. However, the delegate had previously doubted the genuineness of this aspect of the applicant's claim, noting the applicant's continued presence in his home for two months after the incident without his family suffering harm. The court found no jurisdictional error had been established.

The application was dismissed.