Kamal v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

Kamal v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs involved an Ethiopian-born applicant who had been in Australia since 2000. The applicant's visa had been cancelled three times by a delegate of the Minister, and on each occasion the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) had revoked the cancellation. The Tribunal had also affirmed the Minister's decision not to revoke the third cancellation. The applicant sought an extension of time to bring a judicial review application, a writ of habeas corpus, and judicial review of the Tribunal's decision. The key legal issues were whether procedural unfairness had occurred and whether the applicant's detention was unlawful. The court granted the extension of time but dismissed the habeas corpus and judicial review applications.

The court noted that the Tribunal had correctly applied the Ministerial policy and had given the applicant a fair opportunity to present his case. The applicant had not demonstrated any procedural unfairness or that his detention was unlawful. The court held that the Tribunal had not erred in affirming the Minister's decision not to revoke the visa cancellation. The applicant's history of criminal offending and failure to comply with the conditions of suspended sentences weighed against him. The court also rejected the applicant's contention that the delegate could not validly rely on a conviction to cancel a visa where the Tribunal had previously excused the visa holder from cancellation arising from the same conviction. The court found no error in the Tribunal's decision and dismissed the judicial review application. The writ of habeas corpus was also dismissed.

The court ordered that the respondent's name be amended on the Court's file, that the habeas corpus application be dismissed, that the time for bringing the judicial review application be extended to 26 September 2022, that the judicial review application be dismissed, and that the applicant pay the respondent's costs of the proceeding.