Gupta v Minister for Immigration

In *Gupta v Minister for Immigration*, the applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) affirming a decision to refuse a student visa. The applicant contended that the MRT had engaged in jurisdictional error by failing to consider a relevant consideration, specifically an offer of enrolment.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit Court was whether the MRT had failed to consider a relevant consideration, thereby committing jurisdictional error. This required the Court to determine the point at which the MRT's decision became final and it lost the power to consider further material.

The Court considered section 430 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which outlines the requirements for a written statement of decision by the Tribunal and stipulates that a decision is taken to have been made upon the making of that written statement. The Court noted that the MRT's decision was dated and time-stamped at 12:57 pm on 25 February 2015. The respondent submitted, and the Court accepted, that by 2:19 pm on the same day, when a relevant document was provided to the Tribunal, the Tribunal was *functus officio* and therefore lacked the power to consider that document. Consequently, the Court found that the applicant's submission regarding the failure to consider a relevant consideration lacked substance.