KRJF v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, KRJF, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to cancel their bridging visa on character grounds. The Minister for Immigration was the respondent. The matter came before Judge Lucev in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it possessed jurisdiction to hear the application for judicial review. Ancillary to this, the Court was required to consider whether it was necessary to determine an application for an extension of time, whether a pro bono referral should be made, and whether the judicial review application should be transferred to the Federal Court.

Judge Lucev determined that the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia did not have jurisdiction to hear the judicial review application. The Court reasoned that the relevant legislation did not confer jurisdiction on this Court to review decisions of the AAT in this specific context. Consequently, as the Court lacked jurisdiction, it was not necessary to consider the application for an extension of time, nor was it appropriate to make a pro bono referral or order a transfer of the proceedings to the Federal Court. The Court noted that the Federal Court of Australia would be the appropriate forum for such an application.