Cfo17 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

Case [2022] FCA 1144


FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

CFO17 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCA 1144    

Appeal from:  CFO17 v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2020] FCCA 192
File number(s): NSD 414 of 2020
Judgment of: THAWLEY J
Date of judgment: 23 September 2022
Catchwords: MIGRATION – appeal from orders of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissing an application for review of a decision by the Immigration Assessment Authority to refuse the applicant a Temporary Protection (subclass 785) visa – where appellant did not appear at the case management hearing or respond to communication in relation to the hearing – whether appeal should be dismissed – Held: appeal dismissed  
Legislation: Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) r 5.23
Division: General Division
Registry: New South Wales
National Practice Area: Administrative and Constitutional Law and Human Rights
Number of paragraphs: 5
Date of hearing: 23 September 2022
Counsel for the Appellant: The appellant did not appear at hearing
Counsel for the Respondents: Mr M Gao of HWL Ebsworth
Solicitor for the Respondents: HWL Ebsworth

ORDERS

NSD 414 of 2020
BETWEEN:

CFO17

Appellant

AND:

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

First Respondent

IMMIGRATION ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY

Second Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:

THAWLEY J

DATE OF ORDER:

23 SEPTEMBER 2022

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.Subject to order 3, the appeal be dismissed.

2.The first respondent serve a copy of these orders on the appellant: (a) personally; (b) by the email address identified in the notice of appeal, as soon as reasonably practicable.

3.Reserve liberty to the appellant to apply within 14 days of personal service pursuant to order 2 hereof, for an order vacating order 1 on sufficient cause being shown.

4.The name of the first respondent be changed to “Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs”.

5.The appellant pay the first respondent’s costs as agreed or assessed.

Note:   Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.


REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
(Revised from transcript)

THAWLEY J:

  1. This appeal was filed on 6 April 2020.

  2. I listed the matter for a case management hearing in order to set a timetable for hearing. The appellant did not appear. The matter was called outside Court three times.

  3. The Minister applied for an order under rule 5.23(1)(b) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) for an order dismissing the appeal and tendered a letter sent by express post to the appellant dated 21 September 2022 and an email sent on 21 September 2022 attaching that letter. A further email was sent by the first respondent’s solicitor on 23 September 2022 informing the appellant of the court room in which the case management hearing would be held. The first respondent’s solicitor has also unsuccessfully sought to contact the appellant by telephone.

  4. The Court has also sought to communicate with the appellant via email but not received a response.

  5. In the circumstances, I make the following orders:

    1.Subject to order 3, the appeal be dismissed.

    2.The first respondent serve a copy of these orders on the appellant: (a) personally; (b) by the email address identified in the notice of appeal, as soon as reasonably practicable.

    3.Reserve liberty to the appellant to apply within 14 days of personal service pursuant to order 2 hereof, for an order vacating order 1 on sufficient cause being shown.

    4.The name of the first respondent be changed to “Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs”.

    5.The appellant pay the first respondent’s costs as agreed or assessed.

I certify that the preceding five (5) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Thawley.

Associate:

Dated:       23 September 2022

Details
AGLC
Cfo17 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCA 1144
Case
[2022] FCA 1144
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The appellant, identified as Cfo17, appealed against the Federal Circuit Court's dismissal of their application for review of a decision by the Immigration Assessment Authority to refuse a Temporary Protection (subclass 785) visa. The appellant did not appear at the case management hearing nor did they respond to communications related to the hearing. The Federal Court was tasked with determining whether the appeal should be dismissed due to the appellant's lack of participation.

The central legal issue was whether the appeal should proceed given the appellant's failure to engage with the court process, including not appearing for the case management hearing and not responding to communications. The court considered whether the appellant's absence and lack of communication constituted a sufficient ground for dismissing the appeal.

The court found that the appellant's absence from the case management hearing and failure to respond to communications indicated a lack of interest or intent to pursue the appeal. The court held that the appeal should be dismissed. However, the court also provided the appellant with an opportunity to apply for vacating the dismissal order within 14 days of personal service of the orders, if sufficient cause was shown.

The court dismissed the appeal but reserved the right for the appellant to apply for the dismissal to be vacated within 14 days of personal service of the orders, if sufficient cause was shown. Additionally, the court ordered the appellant to pay the respondent's costs as agreed or assessed. The name of the first respondent was amended to "Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs" in the final orders.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. Subject to order 3, the appeal be dismissed.

2. The first respondent serve a copy of these orders on the appellant: (a) personally; (b) by the email address identified in the notice of appeal, as soon as reasonably practicable.

3. Reserve liberty to the appellant to apply within 14 days of personal service pursuant to order 2 hereof, for an order vacating order 1 on sufficient cause being shown.

4. The name of the first respondent be changed to “Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs”.

5. The appellant pay the first respondent’s costs as agreed or assessed.

Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.