GOL18 v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application by GOL18 against the Minister for Immigration. The applicant contended that the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) erred in its review of a fast track decision by failing to verify the genuineness of a medical certificate. The applicant argued that the IAA had the power to make inquiries under section 473DC of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and that a failure to do so, particularly concerning a critical fact, could constitute jurisdictional error.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the IAA had a duty to make inquiries to verify the authenticity of the medical certificate, and if its failure to do so amounted to jurisdictional error. The applicant relied on obiter dicta from *Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI & Anor* which suggested that a failure to make an obvious inquiry about a critical fact could, in some circumstances, amount to a constructive failure to exercise jurisdiction.

The Court considered the provisions of section 473DC of the Act, which outlines the IAA's power to obtain new information but explicitly states that the IAA does not have a duty to obtain, request, or accept any new information. The Court noted that previous decisions, including *DJF16 v Minister for Home Affairs* and *DYK16 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection*, had questioned whether Part 7AA of the Act imposed a duty on the IAA to make inquiries of the kind contemplated in *SZIAI*. Ultimately, the Court was not satisfied that the IAA had erred in failing to make the suggested inquiry, finding that no jurisdictional error had been demonstrated.