Feu17 v Minister for Immigration; Few17 v Minister for Immigration; Fex17 v Minister for Immigration

These three applications concerned appeals from decisions of the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to refuse protection visas to the applicants, who claimed a fear of harm in Sri Lanka. The applicants alleged numerous errors in the IAA's assessments, including in relation to their nationality. The applications were heard by Driver J in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the IAA had committed jurisdictional error in its assessment of the applicants' claims for protection visas. This involved examining whether the IAA had properly considered the evidence before it, particularly concerning the applicants' claims of nationality and the alleged fears of harm.

Driver J found that, with the exception of the applicant son, no jurisdictional error had been established by the applicants. The Court's reasoning focused on the limited scope of review available for IAA decisions, which generally requires the identification of a jurisdictional error rather than a mere error of fact or law. The Court concluded that the IAA's findings, while potentially debatable, did not rise to the level of jurisdictional error in the case of the parents.

Consequently, leave to appeal was refused for the applications brought by the parents, and their applications were dismissed. The application brought by the applicant son was treated differently, with a finding of jurisdictional error in his case.