Fu v Minister for Immigration

Fu (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant a visa. The applicant had applied for a Protection visa. The Minister's delegate had refused the application, and this decision was affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The applicant then sought review of the AAT's decision in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the AAT had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claims for protection. Specifically, the Court was required to consider whether the AAT had failed to adequately assess the risk of harm the applicant would face if returned to their country of origin, and whether the AAT had properly applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) in determining the applicant's eligibility for a Protection visa.

Judge Dowdy found that the AAT had made a jurisdictional error. The Court reasoned that the AAT had failed to properly consider all the evidence before it regarding the applicant's fear of persecution, particularly in relation to specific claims made by the applicant. The AAT's decision was found to be based on an incomplete and therefore flawed assessment of the risk of harm, meaning it had not adequately discharged its statutory duty.

The Court ordered that the AAT's decision be set aside and remitted to the AAT for redetermination according to law.