Ghimire v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (No 2)

The case of Ghimire v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (No 2) involved the Applicant, Mr Ghimire, who had applied for an Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class EN) visa. The Applicant’s visa application was rejected, and the Tribunal dismissed his review application due to his failure to attend the hearing. However, the Tribunal reinstated the review application, and Mr Ghimire subsequently appeared before the Tribunal. Despite his appearance, the Tribunal found that the nomination for the occupation of ‘Chef’ with M.P.Z. Nominees Pty Ltd was no longer available to him, and affirmed the delegate’s decision.

The central legal issue in this case was whether the Court should extend the time for filing the application for review, given that it was filed out of time. The Applicant’s lawyer did not address the Court as to why the time for filing should be extended and instead relied on previous submissions made. However, the Applicant’s lawyer had not filed submissions previously and did not produce a transcript of the hearing before the Registrar. The Court had to consider the nature of its powers and the balance between the powers exercised by the Court and those exercised by the Registrars. The Court also had to determine whether the conduct of the Applicant’s solicitor warranted a costs order against him.

The Court found that the application for review was a waste of time as the Applicant’s lawyer did not provide any valid reason for the late filing. The Court also found that the conduct of the solicitor reached the threshold for a costs order against him and potentially fell short of what is required by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015. The Court dismissed the application for review and did not extend the time for filing. The Court also ordered the Applicant to pay the costs of the Minister.