Kent, J.S. and Matysek, S.P.

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia, constituted by Ellis, Simpson and Ross-Jones JJ, considered an appeal concerning the interpretation and application of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The appeal arose from a decision of a single judge of the Federal Court, and the central dispute involved the lawfulness of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse to revoke a mandatory visa cancellation. The applicants, Kent and Matysek, sought judicial review of this refusal.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the Minister's decision to refuse revocation of the visa cancellation was affected by jurisdictional error, and if so, what the appropriate remedy should be. Specifically, the court had to determine if the Minister had failed to consider relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing whether to revoke the visa cancellation under section 501CA of the *Migration Act*. The applicants argued that the Minister's assessment of their character and the risk they posed to the Australian community was flawed.

The Full Court found that the Minister had indeed committed jurisdictional error. Their Honours reasoned that the Minister's decision-making process had failed to adequately consider the applicants' submissions regarding their rehabilitation and the low risk they posed upon release from detention. The court emphasised that while the Minister has broad discretion under section 501CA, this discretion must be exercised according to law, which includes a proper consideration of all relevant material. The failure to give sufficient weight to the evidence of rehabilitation and the limited risk of reoffending meant the Minister's decision was not open to them on the material before them.

Consequently, the Full Court allowed the appeal, set aside the Minister's decision to refuse revocation, and remitted the matter to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.