Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs v McQueen

The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (the Minister) appealed to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Full Federal Court, which had allowed an appeal by Mr. McQueen against a decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the lawfulness of the Minister's decision to refuse to grant Mr. McQueen a protection visa.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Minister, in considering Mr. McQueen's application for a protection visa, had failed to afford him procedural fairness. Specifically, the central legal issue was whether the Minister was obliged to provide Mr. McQueen with an opportunity to respond to adverse information that had come into the Minister's possession after the initial assessment of his claims, but before the final decision was made.

The Court held that procedural fairness requires a decision-maker to give a person an opportunity to comment on adverse information that is credible, relevant, and significant to the ultimate decision. In this instance, the adverse information concerned allegations of Mr. McQueen's involvement in criminal activities in his country of origin, which was directly relevant to his claims for protection. The Minister's failure to provide Mr. McQueen with notice of this information and an opportunity to respond meant that the decision to refuse the protection visa was vitiated by a denial of procedural fairness. The Court applied the principles established in cases such as *Kiao v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs* and *Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh*.

The High Court dismissed the Minister's appeal, upholding the decision of the Full Federal Court. Consequently, the Minister's decision to refuse Mr. McQueen's protection visa was set aside.