DHW17 v Minister for Home Affairs

The appellant, a Sri Lankan Tamil Christian citizen, appealed against the Minister for Home Affairs' decision to refuse his application for a Safe Haven Enterprise visa. The Federal Circuit Court had previously dismissed the appellant's challenge to the decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority, which affirmed the delegate's refusal of the visa application. The appellant, who arrived in Australia by boat in 2012, applied for the visa in 2016, and the Authority rendered its decision in 2017. The appellant, initially unrepresented, sought judicial review and later secured representation for the appeal to the High Court. The appellant contended that the Authority had failed to consider all relevant country information and had not assessed the reliability of the country information it did consider. The Minister conceded that one ground of appeal had been raised before the Federal Circuit Court, but not the other. The court considered the appellant's application for leave to amend the notice of appeal to include the new ground, but refused the application as the ground had insufficient merit. The court dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the Authority's reasoning, and ordered the appellant to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.