Pandey v Minister for Immigration

In *Pandey v Minister for Immigration*, the applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Migration Review Tribunal (Tribunal) which affirmed the refusal of his student visa application. The core of the dispute concerned the Tribunal's handling of the applicant's request for an adjournment of his hearing.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal had committed a jurisdictional error by failing to consider a relevant matter when it refused the applicant's request for an adjournment. This involved determining whether the applicant's stated reasons for seeking an adjournment were matters that the Tribunal was bound to consider in the exercise of its discretion.

Justice Cameron found that the applicant had provided reasons for his adjournment request that were relevant to the Tribunal's ability to conduct a fair hearing and to properly consider his application. The Tribunal's failure to engage with these reasons, and instead simply refusing the adjournment without adequate consideration, constituted a failure to consider a relevant matter. This failure amounted to a jurisdictional error, as it vitiated the Tribunal's decision-making process.

Consequently, the Court made orders setting aside the decision of the Migration Review Tribunal and remitting the matter to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.