NANH v MIMIA

The applicants, NANH and MIMIA, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. The dispute concerned the Minister's refusal to grant the applicants a protection visa. The applicants, who were citizens of Vietnam, claimed they had a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to their home country.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the protection visa was affected by an error of law. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if the Minister had failed to properly consider the applicants' claims of persecution, thereby breaching the requirements of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

McHugh and Heydon JJ found that the Minister's delegate had failed to adequately assess the evidence presented by the applicants regarding their fear of persecution. The delegate had not properly considered the cumulative effect of the various grounds upon which the applicants based their claims, nor had they given sufficient weight to the expert evidence provided. The Court reiterated the principle that a decision-maker must genuinely consider all relevant evidence and not simply dismiss claims without proper evaluation. The failure to do so constituted an error of law.

The High Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.