EQJ17 v Minister for Home Affairs

The case of EQJ17 v Minister for Home Affairs involved the applicant, an Iraqi national, seeking judicial review of a decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (FCC) to refuse an extension of time to seek judicial review of a decision by the Independent Review Authority (IAA). The IAA had affirmed a decision by the Minister for Home Affairs to refuse the applicant's application for a protection visa. The primary legal issues were whether the FCC had committed a jurisdictional error in refusing to extend the time and whether the FCC's reasons for its decision were deficient.

The FCC had held that the applicant had provided an inadequate explanation for the delay in seeking judicial review. The court noted that judicial review of the FCC's decision was limited, and a jurisdictional error by the FCC itself had to be established. The court found that the FCC's reasons were not deficient, as the potential failure by the FCC to consider the substance of one of the proposed grounds of appeal was not material to its decision. The court dismissed the application for judicial review.

The court vacated the earlier orders, joined the FCC as the third respondent, and dismissed the application for judicial review. The applicant was ordered to pay the costs of the first respondent as agreed or assessed. The court emphasised the limited scope of judicial review of the FCC's decision, noting that it was not sufficient for the applicant to demonstrate that the FCC erred in failing to find that the IAA fell into jurisdictional error. The court's decision underscored the importance of establishing a jurisdictional error on the part of the FCC itself.