El Khansa v Minister for Immigration

In *El Khansa v Minister for Immigration*, the applicant, Mr El Khansa, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant him a visa. The dispute concerned the Minister's assessment of Mr El Khansa's character for the purposes of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before Driver J in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister had failed to provide Mr El Khansa with a proper opportunity to respond to adverse information that was relevant to the character test before making the decision to refuse his visa application. This involved considering the requirements of procedural fairness, specifically the right to know and respond to adverse material.

Driver J found that the Minister had indeed failed to afford Mr El Khansa procedural fairness. His Honour reasoned that the adverse information relied upon by the Minister, which related to alleged criminal conduct, was significant and directly impacted the character assessment. The Minister's failure to provide Mr El Khansa with a clear and adequate opportunity to address this specific information before making the decision meant that the decision was vitiated by a jurisdictional error. The Court applied the well-established principles of procedural fairness, requiring that a person be given a reasonable opportunity to present their case and to respond to adverse material that might influence a decision affecting their rights or interests.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.