Gurung v Minister for Immigration

The applicants, Mr and Mrs Gurung, sought judicial review of a decision by the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) which affirmed the Minister for Immigration's refusal to grant them an Employer Nomination (Residence) (Class BW) visa. The core of the dispute concerned the MRT's handling of the visa application process, specifically allegations of procedural unfairness.

The primary legal issues before the Federal Circuit Court were whether the MRT had erred in law by failing to grant an adjournment of the hearing, and whether it had failed to provide the applicants with an opportunity to comment on information that indicated their sponsor's subsequent nomination would not be approved. Additionally, the court considered whether the MRT had failed to adequately consider a previous decision that affirmed a refusal to approve an appointment nominated by the employer.

Justice Smith found that the MRT had not committed jurisdictional error. The court reasoned that the applicants had not demonstrated that the refusal to grant an adjournment was unreasonable or that they had been denied procedural fairness. Furthermore, the court determined that the information regarding the subsequent nomination was not of a nature that required further comment from the applicants, as it did not introduce new adverse material that was not already before the Tribunal. The failure to consider the previous decision was also found not to constitute jurisdictional error in the circumstances.

Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.