IXT24 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

In the case of IXT24 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, the applicant, a Malaysian citizen, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) that it lacked jurisdiction to review the decision of the Minister’s delegate to refuse his application for a protection visa. The applicant had been in immigration detention since 26 September 2024 and faced involuntary removal from Australia on 22 November 2024. The applicant sought an extension of time to apply for judicial review, as well as an interlocutory injunction to prevent his removal from Australia.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the applicant had established a serious question to be tried regarding the jurisdictional error of the Tribunal, and whether the balance of convenience favoured the grant of interlocutory injunctive relief. The court had to determine if the applicant had a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits of his application for judicial review to warrant the preservation of the status quo. This involved assessing whether the Tribunal's decision to deem the applicant notified of the delegate's decision on 30 May 2020 and to find it lacked jurisdiction due to the late filing of the application was legally sound.

The court held that there was a serious question to be tried regarding the Tribunal's jurisdictional error. Specifically, the court found it arguable that the Tribunal erred in concluding the applicant was notified of the decision on 30 May 2020, as the second notification was sent to an incorrect email address. Additionally, the court considered it arguable that the Tribunal's decision was affected by legal unreasonableness. Given these considerations, the court concluded that the balance of convenience favoured the grant of an interlocutory injunction to prevent the applicant's removal from Australia. The court granted the interlocutory injunction and ordered the respondent to refrain from removing the applicant from Australia until further order.