MZZLD v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

The applicant, a non-citizen, applied for injunctive relief and an extension of time to apply for judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Review Tribunal. The case was heard by the Federal Circuit Court, which dismissed the application for an extension of time. The applicant then sought relief from the Federal Court, alleging that the Federal Circuit Court had erred in law in dismissing the application for an extension of time. The applicant contended that the Federal Circuit Court applied an incorrect test in exercising its discretion to extend time, took into account irrelevant considerations, failed to take into account relevant considerations, and did not afford procedural fairness.

The court considered whether the Federal Circuit Court applied an incorrect test in exercising its discretion to extend time. The applicant argued that the Federal Circuit Court required the applicant to establish that his application for judicial review had a "serious prospect of success", which was an incorrect test. The court considered the relevant statutory provisions and authorities, and concluded that the requirement for the Federal Circuit Court to be satisfied that an extension of time is "in the interests of the administration of justice" does not import a necessarily different set of factors for consideration than those identified under similar regimes.

The court found that the Federal Circuit Court did not err in law in dismissing the application for an extension of time. The court found that the Federal Circuit Court considered the relevant factors in exercising its discretion, and that the applicant had not established a serious question to be tried as to whether the Federal Circuit Court had erred in law. The court also found that the applicant had not established that the Federal Circuit Court took into account irrelevant considerations, failed to take into account relevant considerations, or did not afford procedural fairness.

The court granted the applicant's application for injunctive relief and ordered that the respondent be restrained from removing the applicant from Australia until the hearing and determination of the application for relief. The court also ordered that the respondent pay the applicant's costs of and incidental to his applications for injunctive relief.