Cruz v Minister for Imkmigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs

In *Cruz v Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs*, the applicants, Mr and Mrs Cruz, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister to refuse their application for a protection visa. The applicants, who were citizens of the Philippines, claimed to fear persecution in their home country due to their involvement with a political organisation. The Minister had refused their application on the basis that they did not meet the criteria for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The central legal issue before the Full Federal Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the protection visa application was affected by an error of law. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the Minister had failed to take into account relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the applicants' claims of persecution. This involved an examination of the Minister's duty to properly consider all evidence and submissions presented by the applicants.

The court found that the Minister's delegate had failed to give adequate consideration to the applicants' evidence regarding their political activities and the potential consequences they faced in the Philippines. The delegate had, in effect, dismissed the applicants' claims without a proper assessment of their credibility and the objective realities of the situation in their country of origin. The court reiterated the principle that a failure to consider relevant material, or a perfunctory consideration of it, can constitute an error of law, rendering the decision invalid.

Consequently, the Full Federal Court quashed the Minister's decision and remitted the matter to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.