Khan v Minister for Immigration

Khan (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant him a visa. The applicant had applied for a Protection visa, which was refused by the delegate of the Minister. The applicant then sought review of that decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), which affirmed the refusal. The applicant subsequently filed an application for judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the AAT had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claims for protection. Specifically, the Court was required to consider whether the AAT had failed to adequately assess the risk of harm the applicant might face if returned to his country of origin, and whether it had properly applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) in determining whether the applicant met the criteria for a Protection visa.

Judge Manousaridis found that the AAT had made a jurisdictional error by failing to adequately consider all the evidence before it regarding the applicant's claims. The Court held that the AAT had not properly engaged with the specific allegations made by the applicant concerning past persecution and the well-foundedness of his fear of future persecution. The Court applied principles of administrative law concerning the duty to provide adequate reasons and the proper application of statutory criteria.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal be set aside and remitted to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.