Exhibitions and Events Australia Pty Ltd

Exhibitions and Events Australia Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision made by the respondent, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, to refuse to grant the applicant a visa. The applicant, a company, had applied for a visa to allow its employees to enter Australia to organise and manage a series of exhibitions and events. The Minister's decision was made under s 501(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which allows for the refusal of a visa if the Minister reasonably suspects that a person does not pass the character test.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the visa on character grounds was vitiated by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the court was required to determine if the Minister had reasonably suspected that the applicant, through its directors and employees, did not pass the character test as defined in s 501(6) of the *Migration Act*. This involved an examination of the evidence before the Minister and whether that evidence could rationally support the suspicion required by the legislation.

Justice Brown found that the Minister's decision was affected by jurisdictional error. Her Honour held that the evidence before the Minister, which related to past conduct of individuals associated with the applicant, did not provide a sufficient or rational basis for the Minister to reasonably suspect that the applicant, as a corporate entity, did not pass the character test. The court reasoned that the character test, when applied to a corporation, requires a connection between the conduct of individuals and the corporation itself, which was lacking in the material considered by the Minister. The Minister's suspicion was therefore not reasonably open on the facts.

The court made orders quashing the decision of the Minister to refuse the visa and remitting the application to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.