Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

The High Court of Australia considered an application by a prosecutor, a German citizen who had entered Australia as a child, for a declaration that the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs' decision to cancel his visa was invalid and void. The prosecutor had a substantial criminal record, having been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for murder. The Minister's decision was made under section 501(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), which allows for visa cancellation if the Minister reasonably suspects the person does not pass the character test.

The legal issues before the Court included whether the Minister's decision was affected by jurisdictional error, specifically whether the prosecutor was denied procedural fairness. The prosecutor argued that the Minister's failure to notify him in writing of the reasons for the decision, prior to its making, constituted a constructive failure to exercise jurisdiction and rendered the decision unreasonable to the point of "Wednesbury unreasonableness." The Court also considered whether section 501G(4) of the Act, which states that a failure to comply with that section does not affect the validity of a decision, applied to the circumstances.

The Court reasoned that the prosecutor had been provided with a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancelling a Visa, which detailed the grounds for potential cancellation and invited him to provide comments. He was interviewed and submitted a lengthy written response. The Minister's decision was based on a submission prepared by departmental officers, which included the prosecutor's response and other relevant materials. The Court found that section 501G(4) was a privative clause that prevented a failure to comply with that section from affecting the validity of the decision. Furthermore, the Court held that the procedural steps taken satisfied the requirements of procedural fairness, and the decision was not affected by jurisdictional error or "Wednesbury unreasonableness."

Consequently, the order nisi granted on 28 October 2002 was discharged, and the prosecutor's application for a declaration that the Minister's decision was invalid and void was dismissed. The prosecutor was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.