KALER v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, Kaler, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant him a visa. The dispute concerned the Minister's assessment of Kaler's eligibility for the visa, specifically in relation to certain character requirements. The matter came before Judge Burchardt of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the visa was affected by jurisdictional error. This involved examining whether the delegate of the Minister had properly considered all relevant factors and applied the correct legal tests when assessing Kaler's character, particularly in light of adverse information that had been provided.

Judge Burchardt found that the delegate had failed to adequately consider the applicant's submissions in response to the adverse information. The Court held that a failure to give proper weight to submissions made by an applicant in response to adverse information, which is a crucial part of the character assessment, constitutes a failure to exercise the power conferred by the relevant legislation according to law. This failure amounted to jurisdictional error.

Consequently, the Court quashed the decision of the Minister to refuse the visa and remitted the application for reconsideration according to law.