Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs v AAM17 & Anor

The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Federal Court. The appeal concerned the lawfulness of the Minister's decision to refuse to revoke a mandatory visa cancellation under s 501(3)(c) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in relation to the first respondent, AAM17. The second respondent, AAM17's mother, was also a party to the proceedings. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the Minister, when considering revocation, was required to consider the best interests of a child who was not an Australian citizen.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Minister, in exercising the power under s 501CA(4) of the Migration Act to revoke a mandatory visa cancellation, was obliged to consider the best interests of a child who was not an Australian citizen. This involved an interpretation of s 501CA(4) and its interaction with the overarching purpose of the Migration Act, particularly in light of the High Court's previous decision in *Love v Commonwealth* [2020] HCA 3.

The Court held that the Minister's obligation under s 501CA(4) to consider the best interests of a child extended to children who were not Australian citizens. The reasoning was that the phrase "best interests of a child" in s 501CA(4) was not qualified by any express limitation to Australian citizen children. Furthermore, the Court found that the Minister's decision in this instance failed to properly consider the best interests of AAM17's child, who was not an Australian citizen, and therefore the decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error. The appeal was dismissed.