Iyer v MIMA S17/2001

In *Iyer v MIMA S17/2001*, the High Court of Australia considered an appeal from a decision of the Federal Court of Australia concerning the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs' refusal to grant a visa. The applicant, Mr Iyer, sought judicial review of the Minister's decision.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the Minister, in exercising the power to refuse a visa under s 501(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), was required to consider the character of the applicant, Mr Iyer, at the time of the decision, or whether the Minister could consider character at an earlier point in time. This involved an interpretation of the phrase "is not of good character" within the context of the statutory power.

The High Court held that the Minister's power to refuse a visa on character grounds under s 501(1) required the Minister to assess the applicant's character at the time the decision was made. The Court reasoned that the language of the provision indicated a present assessment of character, and that to consider character at an earlier, hypothetical point in time would be to misinterpret the statutory power. The Court emphasised that the assessment of character must be based on information available to the Minister at the time of the decision.

The High Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the decision of the Federal Court and remitting the matter to the Federal Court for further consideration.