Malik v Minister for Immigration

Malik (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant him a visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal had affirmed the Minister's decision. The applicant brought his application in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal had erred in law by failing to consider, or adequately consider, the applicant's submissions regarding his rehabilitation and his prospects of reoffending, in the context of the character provisions under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Specifically, the Court considered whether the Tribunal had given sufficient weight to the evidence of the applicant's efforts towards rehabilitation and his remorse for past conduct when assessing whether he satisfied the 'character' requirement for the visa.

Judge Lucev found that the Tribunal had failed to adequately consider the applicant's submissions regarding his rehabilitation and prospects of reoffending. The Court reasoned that while the Tribunal was entitled to reach its own conclusion on the applicant's character, it was obliged to engage with and properly assess all relevant evidence presented by the applicant, including evidence of remorse and rehabilitation efforts. The failure to do so constituted an error of law.

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