CVT15 v Minister for Immigration

CVT15 (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant, who had arrived in Australia without a visa, claimed to fear persecution in their country of origin. The Minister's decision was made under s 48B of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which prevents the grant of a protection visa to a non-citizen who has entered Australia other than through a port of entry. The matter came before Judge Street in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister had properly exercised the discretion conferred by s 48B of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) in refusing to allow the applicant to make a valid application for a protection visa. Specifically, the Court was asked to consider whether the Minister's decision was affected by jurisdictional error, particularly in relation to the proper construction and application of the discretionary power under s 48B.

Judge Street reasoned that s 48B of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) confers a broad discretion on the Minister to permit a non-citizen who has entered Australia other than through a port of entry to make a valid application for a protection visa. The Court held that the Minister's decision to refuse to exercise this discretion must be based on relevant considerations and must not be affected by irrelevant considerations or an error of law. In this instance, the Court found that the Minister's decision-making process had failed to adequately consider the applicant's circumstances and the potential for harm they faced, thereby constituting a jurisdictional error.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.