Lawani v MIAC

The applicant, Lawani, sought judicial review of a decision by the Migration and Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) to dismiss her application for a protection visa. The Tribunal had found that Lawani's statutory declaration did not comply with regulation 1.26 of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) because it failed to set out the full circumstances of her alleged persecution. The Tribunal also found that the declaration did not comply with regulation 1.23(2) of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) as it was not signed by the applicant.

The central legal issues before the Federal Court were whether the Tribunal had erred in law by failing to inform the applicant of the nature of the deficiencies in her statutory declaration, and whether the Tribunal was obliged to do so under section 359A of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Court was also required to determine whether the statutory declaration, as submitted, failed to comply with the requirements of regulation 1.26 and 1.23(2) of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

Justice Whelan held that section 359A of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) does not impose an obligation on the Tribunal to inform an applicant of the nature of any deficiency in a statutory declaration. The Court found that the Tribunal was correct in its assessment that the statutory declaration did not comply with regulation 1.26, as it did not set out the full circumstances of the applicant's alleged persecution. Furthermore, the Court agreed that the declaration failed to comply with regulation 1.23(2) because it was not signed by the applicant. Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.