DBA16 v Minister for Home Affairs

In DBA16 v Minister for Home Affairs, Her Honour Judge C E Kirton QC considered an application for an extension of time to seek judicial review of a decision made by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA). The applicant, who had previously sought a Safe Haven Enterprise (subclass 790) Visa, was seeking to challenge the IAA's decision made on 15 September 2016. The current application, along with the substantive application for judicial review, was filed on 11 September 2018, approximately 23 months after the statutory time limit for such applications had expired.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether to grant an extension of time under s 477(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and, in doing so, whether it was in the interests of the administration of justice to permit the applicant to again agitate his claim for a protection visa. The applicant had previously filed a proceeding in the Federal Circuit Court for judicial review of the same IAA decision, which was dismissed, and a subsequent appeal to the Federal Court was also dismissed. The Minister contended that the applicant was precluded from seeking relief by reason of *Anshun* estoppel.

Her Honour determined that it was not in the interests of the administration of justice to grant the extension of time. The Court noted the applicant's prior unsuccessful attempts to judicially review the IAA decision, including appeals that had been dismissed by both the Federal Circuit Court and the Federal Court. Given the significant delay and the previous litigation concerning the same matter, the Court refused the extension of time application.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the extension of time application be refused and that the applicant pay the Minister's costs. The substantive application for judicial review was therefore dismissed.