Kamal v Minister for Immigration

Kamal and others (the applicants) sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning their applications for Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) (Subclass 187) visas. The Minister for Immigration (the respondent) was the opposing party.

The central legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal had committed a jurisdictional error in its decision regarding the applicants' visa applications. Specifically, the court had to determine if the applicants were entitled to have their visa applications considered on the merits, notwithstanding that they were not the subject of an approved nomination.

Justice Kendall found that the legislative framework for the Subclass 187 visa requires an approved nomination as a prerequisite for the grant of the visa. As the applicants did not have an approved nomination, the Tribunal lacked the power to grant the visa. Consequently, the Tribunal's decision not to grant the visa did not constitute a jurisdictional error. The application for judicial review was therefore dismissed.