Plaintiff B60 of 2012 v Minister for Foreign Affairs

In *Plaintiff B60 of 2012 v Minister for Foreign Affairs*, the High Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning the Minister's decision to refuse to issue a passport to the plaintiff. The plaintiff, who had been convicted of serious criminal offences, sought judicial review of the Minister's decision.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse a passport was vitiated by an error of law, specifically whether the Minister had failed to take into account relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when making the decision. The plaintiff argued that the Minister's refusal was based on an improper purpose and that the Minister had failed to afford the plaintiff procedural fairness.

Kiefel J, in her judgment, examined the scope of the Minister's discretion under the *Passports Act 1938* (Cth) and the common law principles of administrative law. Her Honour found that the Minister's power to refuse a passport was not unfettered and that the decision must be made for a purpose authorised by the Act. Kiefel J concluded that the Minister had acted within the scope of the statutory power and that the plaintiff had not been denied procedural fairness. The Minister's decision was therefore upheld.