Khanna & Ors v Minister for Immigration & Anor

The applicants, Mr and Mrs Khanna, sought judicial review of the Minister for Immigration's decision to refuse their visa applications. The applicants were citizens of India and had applied for skilled migration visas. The Minister's decision was based on adverse security assessments provided by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). The matter came before Judge Manousaridis in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the visa applications, based on ASIO's adverse security assessments, was affected by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court was asked to consider whether the applicants had been afforded procedural fairness in relation to the adverse assessments and whether the Minister had properly considered all relevant information before making the decision.

Judge Manousaridis found that the applicants had not been afforded procedural fairness. The Court held that while the Minister was entitled to rely on ASIO's assessments, the applicants should have been given an opportunity to respond to the adverse information contained within those assessments, or at least be informed of the general nature of the concerns raised. The Court reasoned that a failure to provide such an opportunity constituted a jurisdictional error, as it deprived the applicants of a fair hearing. The Court applied the principles of procedural fairness as established in Australian administrative law, emphasizing the right of individuals to know the case against them and to have an opportunity to present their own case.

The Court quashed the Minister's decision and remitted the applications to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.