Parker v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

The matter of Parker v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection involved the applicant, Mr Parker, challenging the decision of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to cancel his visa on character grounds. Mr Parker had a substantial criminal record and had been warned that his visa would be reconsidered if he committed another offence. He subsequently committed another offence and his visa was cancelled. However, the 2014 conviction that the Minister took into account was annulled after the Minister made his decision. Mr Parker argued that the Minister's decision was a jurisdictional error as he took into account a matter he was bound to disregard.

The legal issues before the court were whether the Minister's decision to cancel Mr Parker's visa was a jurisdictional error and whether the decision was so unreasonable that no reasonable person could have made it. The court considered whether the Minister took into account a matter he was bound to disregard and whether the Minister's decision was unreasonable.

The court held that the Minister's decision was not a jurisdictional error. The court found that the Minister was not bound to disregard the 2014 conviction as it had not been annulled at the time the Minister made his decision. Furthermore, the court held that the Minister was only bound to disregard a conviction for the purposes of the character test and not for the exercise of his discretion. The court rejected Mr Parker's argument that the Minister's decision was unreasonable, holding that the Minister's reasons demonstrated that he had considered all relevant matters.

The court dismissed the application and ordered that Mr Parker pay the respondent's costs. The court held that the Minister's decision to cancel Mr Parker's visa was not a jurisdictional error and was not so unreasonable that no reasonable person could have made it. The court also held that the Minister was not bound to disregard the 2014 conviction as it had not been annulled at the time the Minister made his decision.