Env17 and Ors v Minister for Immigration and Anor (No.2)

Env17 and Ors sought declarations that their detention was unlawful and that they were entitled to be released from immigration detention. The applicants, who were not "fast track applicants" within the meaning of Part 7AA of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), challenged the validity of the proclamation of a port of disembarkation. The Minister for Immigration and the Commonwealth were the respondents. The matter came before Street J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the proclamation of a particular port as a port of disembarkation was validly made under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This question turned on whether the Minister had complied with the procedural requirements stipulated in the Act for making such a proclamation, particularly in relation to the consultation and notification obligations.

Street J found that the proclamation of the port was invalid because the Minister had failed to undertake the necessary consultation with the relevant state or territory authorities as required by the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Court held that this failure to comply with a mandatory procedural step rendered the proclamation void *ab initio*. Consequently, the detention of the applicants, which was predicated on the validity of that proclamation, was unlawful. The Court therefore issued declarations to this effect and a writ of habeas corpus directing the release of the applicants.