DVE16 v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, DVE16, sought judicial review of a decision by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to refuse their application for a protection visa. The core of the dispute concerned allegations that the IAA's decision was affected by jurisdictional error, specifically by failing to consider the exercise of a discretion it possessed.

The court was required to determine whether the IAA had indeed failed to consider exercising a relevant discretion, and if so, whether this constituted jurisdictional error. A further issue was the effect of section 473DA of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) on the operation of common law rules of natural justice in the context of IAA reviews.

Judge Cameron found that the IAA had failed to consider a relevant discretion, which amounted to jurisdictional error. The court reasoned that the IAA's statutory duty to consider all relevant matters, including discretionary considerations, had not been fulfilled. This failure meant the decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error.

The court ordered that the IAA's decision be set aside and remitted to the IAA for redetermination according to law.