Nadeem v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

The matter before the court was an application for leave to appeal from interlocutory orders of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, which dismissed the applicant's application to reinstate proceedings that had been dismissed in default of appearance. The applicant did not appear at the hearing of the reinstatement application before the Federal Circuit Court. The court was required to decide whether to grant an adjournment of the hearing of the application for leave to appeal and whether to dismiss the application for leave to appeal due to the applicant's absence at the hearing.

The court found that the evidence provided by the applicant in support of the adjournment application was insufficient to warrant the grant of an adjournment. The medical certificate provided by the applicant related to a serious medical condition suffered by a relative or family member, Zainab Bibi, which allegedly required the applicant to remain in Pakistan to provide support. However, the applicant did not provide any details by way of explanation of the nature of the support that he was said to be providing to his family or why this prevented him from attending or participating in the hearing. Based on the evidence before the Court, including the evidence of the applicant's entry into and departure from Australia, the court could not be satisfied that the applicant was currently in Pakistan or that he was not currently in Australia.

The court exercised its discretion pursuant to rule 35.33(1)(a)(i) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) and dismissed the application for leave to appeal due to the applicant's absence at the hearing. The court also ordered that the name of the first respondent be changed to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs and that the applicant pay the first respondent's costs.