Matson v The Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

The applicant, Matson, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. The dispute concerned the Attorney-General's refusal to grant a certificate under section 11(1) of the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth) (ADJR Act) in relation to a decision made by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The matter came before Gageler J of the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Attorney-General's refusal to issue the certificate was reviewable under the ADJR Act. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the refusal to grant a certificate under section 11(1) of the ADJR Act constituted a "decision to which this Act applies" within the meaning of section 3(1) of the ADJR Act, or if it was an act or omission that did not give rise to a right to seek judicial review.

Gageler J reasoned that section 11(1) of the ADJR Act confers a discretion on the Attorney-General to issue a certificate that a decision is one to which the Act does not apply. The Court held that the exercise or non-exercise of this discretion, being a decision *about* the applicability of the ADJR Act itself, was not a decision *to which* the ADJR Act applies. Therefore, the refusal to grant the certificate was not a reviewable decision under the ADJR Act. The legal principle applied was that the ADJR Act does not confer jurisdiction to review decisions concerning its own application or scope.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.