EJB18 v Minister for Immigration and Anor

The applicant, EJB18, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Anor concerning a Protection (class XA) visa. The dispute centred on whether harm arising from the enforcement of legal land rights constituted a necessary and foreseeable consequence of the applicant's return to their country of citizenship, as contemplated by section 36(2)(aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter was heard by Judge Mercuri.

The primary legal issue before the court was the interpretation of "necessary and foreseeable consequence" within the context of section 36(2)(aa) of the *Migration Act*. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the potential harm the applicant claimed to face, stemming from the enforcement of their legal land rights in their country of origin, met this threshold for protection.

Judge Mercuri reasoned that the harm alleged by the applicant was not a necessary consequence of their return, nor was it foreseeable in the sense required by the Act. The court found that the applicant's legal rights to their land were distinct from the persecution or harm that the *Migration Act* was designed to protect against. The enforcement of lawful rights, even if it led to conflict, was not considered to be the type of harm that would engage the protection provisions. Consequently, the court dismissed the applicant's application. The applicant was ordered to pay the first respondent's costs.