Kasher (Migration)

The applicant, Kasher, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse her application for an Aged Parent (Residence) (Class BP) visa, subclass 804. The dispute centred on the validity of an Assurance of Support provided by the applicant's son, which had been accepted by Centrelink.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the Assurance of Support, as accepted by Centrelink, satisfied the requirements of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) for the grant of the visa. Specifically, the court had to determine if the acceptance of the Assurance of Support by Centrelink was determinative of its validity for the purposes of the visa application, or if the Minister retained a discretion to assess its adequacy independently.

Justice Raif reasoned that the *Migration Regulations* stipulated that an Assurance of Support must be accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services (or their delegate, such as Centrelink) for the visa to be granted. The court found that the regulations did not grant the Minister a further discretion to re-evaluate the adequacy of an Assurance of Support once it had been validly accepted by Centrelink. Therefore, the Minister's refusal of the visa on the grounds that the Assurance of Support was not adequate, despite its acceptance by Centrelink, was an error of law.

The court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.