Durairajasingham, Ex parte - Re Min for Imm & Multicult Affs

This matter concerned an application for judicial review brought by Mr. Durairajasingham against the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. The applicant sought to challenge a decision made by the Minister. The proceedings were heard by McHugh J in chambers.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's decision was vitiated by a failure to afford procedural fairness to the applicant. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the applicant had been given an adequate opportunity to respond to adverse information that was before the Minister when making the decision.

McHugh J found that the Minister's decision was indeed flawed due to a breach of procedural fairness. His Honour held that where adverse information is relied upon by a decision-maker, and that information is not known to the applicant, procedural fairness requires that the applicant be given a reasonable opportunity to address that information before the decision is made. In this instance, the applicant had not been provided with the adverse material, nor had he been given an opportunity to comment on it, and therefore the decision could not stand.

The Court made orders quashing the Minister's decision and remitting the matter to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.