DFW16 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

DFW16 applied for judicial review of the decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority, which had affirmed a delegate's refusal of his application for a Safe Haven Enterprise visa. The Federal Circuit Court dismissed the application, leading DFW16 to appeal to the Federal Court. The appeal centred on whether the Federal Circuit Court judge failed to consider significant judgments, whether the judge was biased in fixing costs, and whether the judge failed to hold that the Authority acted unreasonably and denied procedural fairness. Additionally, DFW16 argued that the judge failed to consider whether to exercise the power to invite him to give new information.

The Federal Court found that the judge in the Circuit Court erred in not finding that, while the Authority could regard the 2013 application in its decision-making, the Authority acted unreasonably in failing to consider whether it should invite the appellant to comment on the question of the internal inconsistencies it had identified between the two applications before finally disposing of the SHEV application. The court held that the judge's failure to consider this issue was a legal error that warranted allowing the appeal. Regarding the other grounds of appeal, the court found that there was no error in the judge's consideration of other relevant judgments, and that the judge's impartiality was not called into question by the circumstances of the case.

The Federal Court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders of the Federal Circuit Court, and remitted the matter to the Immigration Assessment Authority for reconsideration by another member. The appellant was also entitled to his costs in the Federal Circuit Court and on this appeal, if any, to be assessed if not agreed.