DQT22 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

DQT22 lodged an application for judicial review of a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Tribunal had affirmed a decision of a delegate not to grant the applicant a protection visa. The only ground of judicial review was the Tribunal’s refusal to refer the matter to the Minister for consideration of the Minister’s intervention powers under s 417 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Tribunal had declined to refer the matter for Ministerial intervention on the basis that the applicant’s circumstances did not meet the Minister’s guidelines for referral, which outlined cases that did not meet the guidelines for referral and had the types of circumstances that were inappropriate for the Minister to consider. The applicant argued that the Tribunal’s refusal to refer the matter for Ministerial intervention constituted a jurisdictional error.

The court considered whether the Tribunal’s refusal to refer the matter for Ministerial intervention could constitute a jurisdictional error. The court noted that the Tribunal’s decision-making was subject to the requirements of s 430 of the Migration Act, which required the Tribunal to provide a written record of its decision and reasons for the decision. The court also noted that the Minister’s discretion in s 417 of the Migration Act was not bound by the same requirements as the Tribunal’s decision-making. The court held that the Tribunal’s refusal to refer the matter for Ministerial intervention did not constitute a jurisdictional error because the Tribunal was not required to refer the matter for Ministerial intervention. The court also noted that the applicant could make a request directly to the Minister.

The application for judicial review was dismissed. The court held that the Tribunal’s refusal to refer the matter for Ministerial intervention did not constitute a jurisdictional error and the application was therefore dismissed with costs.