Ett18 v Minister for Home Affairs

The applicant, Ett18, sought judicial review of a delegate's decision concerning an application for a Protection (subclass 866) visa. The dispute centred on whether the delegate had complied with their statutory obligations in processing the visa application. The matter came before Judge Street of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate had failed to comply with their statutory obligations in assessing Ett18's application for a Protection visa. Ett18 invited the Court to engage in a merits review of the delegate's decision, effectively asking the Court to substitute its own decision for that of the delegate.

Judge Street found that there were no arguable grounds for relief. The Court's role in judicial review is not to conduct a merits review of the decision-maker's decision, but rather to determine whether the decision-maker acted lawfully. In this instance, the Court concluded that the delegate had complied with their statutory obligations and that the applicant had not demonstrated any error of law. Consequently, the application was dismissed under rule 44.12 of the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001.