ENU18 v Minister for Home Affairs

ENU18 v Minister for Home Affairs is a case where the applicants sought leave to add a new ground of review and an extension of time to appeal against the Federal Circuit Court's decision. The applicants argued that the Immigration Assessment Authority failed to identify and deal with the assertion that the wife feared persecution due to her membership in a particular social group consisting of persons in Iraq with diabetes requiring medication. The court was required to decide whether it was in the interests of justice to permit the addition of the proposed new ground of review and whether the proposed new ground had any prospects of success. The applicants also sought an extension of time to appeal against the Federal Circuit Court's decision, arguing that the delay was due to waiting for the written reasons of the Federal Circuit Court delivered ex tempore.

The court found that the proposed new ground of review had no prospects of success as there was no material before the decision-maker of systematic and discriminatory conduct under s 5J(4) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The court also found that the proposed new ground was without merit and did not provide any basis for the applicants to succeed in their appeal. The court further found that the success of the application for an extension of time depended on the success of the application for leave to add the proposed new ground of review, which was also without merit. The applicants' applications for leave to add a proposed new ground of review and an extension of time were therefore refused.

The court ordered that the first applicant be appointed as the litigation guardian for the third applicant for the purposes of the application for an extension of time filed on 20 March 2019. The application for an extension of time was dismissed, and the first, second and fourth applicants were ordered to pay the first respondent's costs fixed in the sum of $7,241.00.