Kankaew v Minister for Immigration & Anor

The applicant, Mr Kankaew, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse his application for a Protection visa. The Minister's delegate had refused the application on the basis that the applicant's claims of persecution were not substantiated by sufficient evidence. The matter came before Lloyd-Jones J in the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate's decision to refuse the Protection visa application was affected by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if the delegate had failed to adequately consider the applicant's evidence and submissions, and if the delegate's adverse credibility findings were reasonably open on the material before them.

Lloyd-Jones J found that the delegate had failed to properly assess the applicant's evidence in relation to his claims of persecution. The delegate's adverse credibility findings were not adequately explained or supported by the material, leading the Court to conclude that the delegate had not undertaken the necessary assessment of the evidence. Consequently, the delegate's decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error. The Court made orders setting aside the delegate's decision and remitting the application for reconsideration according to law.