Mehmood v Attorney-General of the Commonwealth

In the Federal Court of Australia, Mehmood sought judicial review of the cancellation of his Criminal Justice Certificate, which led to the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth objecting to the Court’s jurisdiction. The court had to determine whether the decision to cancel the Criminal Justice Certificate was a "migration decision" within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958, and therefore fell within the Court's jurisdiction to review under Division 31.3 of the Federal Court Rules 2011. Additionally, the court had to decide whether the decision was a "migration decision" as defined in section 5 of the Migration Act, which includes privative clause decisions, purported privative clause decisions, and non-privative clause decisions.

The court held that the cancellation of the Criminal Justice Certificate did not fall within any of the categories specified in section 476A(1) of the Migration Act, and therefore, it was not a "migration decision." The court further held that the submission by Mehmood that the decision was an "administrative decision" and not a "migration decision" did not alter this conclusion. Consequently, the objection to the Court’s competency to grant the relief claimed by Mehmood was upheld. The court dismissed Mehmood’s Interlocutory Application and the Application and Statement of Claim. Mehmood was ordered to pay the costs of the Respondents.

The court considered the relevant rules and statutory provisions governing judicial review of migration decisions and the process for objecting to the Court’s jurisdiction. It noted that the proper approach when a respondent objects to the Court’s jurisdiction is to first determine whether the Court has jurisdiction before proceeding further. However, the court observed that the practice of the Court has not always strictly adhered to this approach. The court concluded that the principles in Reading v AMP were applicable in this case, and found that the Court did not have jurisdiction to review the decision to cancel Mehmood’s Criminal Justice Certificate.