Jiang v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application for judicial review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration to refuse an application for a business owner (subclass 890) visa. The applicant, Mr Jiang, sought to have this refusal set aside.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate had erred in law by excluding certain assets from consideration when assessing the applicant's eligibility for the visa. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the delegate was justified in disregarding assets where the applicant's explanation for their provenance was considered uncertain or insufficient.

Justice Driver found that the delegate's approach was not legally erroneous. The delegate was entitled to be satisfied that the applicant had genuinely owned and controlled the assets in question, and that the applicant had provided sufficient evidence to establish the provenance of those assets. Where the applicant failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the origin of the funds, the delegate was not obliged to include those assets in the assessment of the applicant's business and net personal assets. The Court held that the delegate's decision was open to them on the material before them and did not constitute a jurisdictional error.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.