Din, Fazal v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

The applicants in this case were sixteen individuals whose visa applications were refused by the Immigration Review Tribunal due to their failure to demonstrate English language proficiency. The Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs was the respondent in this matter, which was heard by the Federal Court of Australia. The applicants sought judicial review of the Tribunal's decisions, arguing that the refusal of their visas was unlawful.

The primary legal issue the court had to decide was whether the discretion of the Court should be exercised adversely to the applicants on the basis that they and the other group members could not have been prejudiced by the failure to submit a proposed test schedule and papers to the Minister for approval. The applicants argued that the failure to obtain approval of the test arrangements should not be distinguished from the failure to obtain approval of the papers.

The court held that the failure to obtain approval of the test arrangements and the failure to obtain approval of the papers were two separate matters. The court found that the applicants had not been prejudiced by the failure to submit the proposed test schedule and papers to the Minister for approval. However, the court exercised its discretion to set aside the decisions of the Immigration Review Tribunal in respect of the applications for Class 816 entry permits of the sixteen applicants and remitted their applications to the Tribunal for further hearing and determination according to law.

The court also ordered that the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs pay the costs of the applicant incurred in connection with this proceeding, including the costs of the hearing of the preliminary issue on 17 July 1997. The Schedule lists the names of the sixteen applicants whose applications were remitted to the Tribunal.