Herijanto v Refugee Review Tribunal (No 2)

Herijanto (the applicant) sought further discovery from the Refugee Review Tribunal (the respondent) in proceedings before the Federal Court of Australia. The applicant was seeking to challenge a decision of the Tribunal that had affirmed a delegate's decision to refuse his application for a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before Gaudron J was whether the applicant had established a sufficient basis to warrant an order for further discovery from the Tribunal. This involved considering the principles governing discovery in judicial review proceedings, particularly in the context of administrative decision-making.

Gaudron J applied the principles that discovery is not a fishing expedition and that a party seeking further discovery must demonstrate a real prospect that the documents sought will assist their case. Her Honour found that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the documents sought were likely to be relevant or would assist in demonstrating that the Tribunal's decision was affected by an error of law. Consequently, the application for further discovery was dismissed.