Bullmore v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The Applicant, a citizen of the United Kingdom, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) affirming the Minister's decision not to revoke the cancellation of his Class BF transitional (permanent) visa under section 501CA(4) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Applicant's visa was initially cancelled on character grounds following his conviction for rape in 2016. He appealed the cancellation decision, which was ultimately affirmed by the Tribunal. The Applicant raised three grounds for review, with Ground 1 arguing that the Tribunal denied him procedural fairness by admitting police summaries that contained untestable assertions due to the non-disclosure of the makers' identities.

The primary legal issues were whether the Tribunal's reliance on hearsay evidence from the police summaries constituted a denial of procedural fairness and whether the Tribunal's reasoning in affirming the Minister's decision was irrational, illogical, or unreasonable. The court examined whether the Tribunal adequately observed the "rule in Browne v Dunn" and if the evidence was sufficient to support the Tribunal's findings.

The court found that the Tribunal did not deny procedural fairness by considering the police summaries, as the Applicant had an opportunity to challenge the content during cross-examination. The court held that the Tribunal's reasoning was neither irrational, illogical, nor unreasonable. The statutory declaration and cross-examination provided sufficient evidence to support the Tribunal's conclusion that the Applicant stubbornly refused to accept his guilt and had not learnt about the importance of consent in sexual encounters. The court also noted that the Tribunal's major premise was adequately connected to the terms of Direction 79 and did not stray outside the statutory test.

The application for judicial review was dismissed, and the Applicant was ordered to pay the Minister's costs.