KDSP v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The plaintiff, KDSP, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute concerned the Minister's decision under section 501A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), and the plaintiff sought to amend its application to include a new ground of challenge, ground 6, which arose from recent Full Federal Court decisions. The plaintiff also sought to amend the prayers for relief, seeking orders reflecting those granted in *Plaintiff M76/2013*. The proceedings were before the High Court of Australia.

The legal issues before the Court included whether to permit the plaintiff to amend its application to include ground 6, and whether to remit that ground to the Federal Court. The Court was also required to consider the proposed amendments to the prayers for relief, specifically whether declaratory relief, rather than certiorari, was appropriate, and how such relief should be framed. The defendant opposed the amendments, citing delay and prejudice.

The Court considered the plaintiff's application to amend its grounds of challenge and prayers for relief. The plaintiff argued that ground 6 was introduced to preserve its position pending the outcome of related cases in the Federal Court and that the amendments to the relief sought were intended to reflect precedent from *Plaintiff M76/2013*, where declaratory relief was granted due to an anterior error by a delegate. The defendant opposed the amendments, primarily on the grounds of unexplained delay in their introduction and the prejudice this caused to the defendant's case preparation. The Court ultimately indicated a willingness to deal with the application to introduce ground 6 and have it remitted concurrently with the remainder of the application, noting that if the plaintiff were successful, the issue would fall away, and if unsuccessful, the question of remittal would be considered. The Court also indicated it would hear submissions on the proposed relief.