MZWUJ & Anor v MIMA & Anor

The applicants, MZWUJ and another, sought judicial review of decisions made by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (MIMA) and another respondent. The dispute concerned the validity of certain decisions made under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) concerning the applicants' immigration status. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the delegate of the Minister had properly exercised the power conferred by s 48B of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) in refusing to allow the applicants to make a further application for a visa. This involved determining the scope of the Minister's discretion under that section and whether the delegate's decision was affected by an error of law.

The Court's reasoning focused on the interpretation of s 48B, which provides that a non-citizen in Australia who is subject to a section 48 bar may apply to the Minister for a decision that the Minister not require the non-citizen to be offshore to be eligible to apply for a visa. The Court held that the delegate's decision was vitiated by an error of law because the delegate had failed to consider relevant considerations and had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the applicants' claims. Specifically, the delegate had misunderstood the nature of the discretion vested in them, treating it as a matter of policy rather than a broad discretion to be exercised according to law. The Court affirmed that the exercise of such a discretion requires a genuine consideration of the individual circumstances of the applicant.

The High Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders of the Federal Court and remitting the matter to the Federal Court for reconsideration of the application for judicial review.