SENG v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, Mr Seng, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning his application for a student visa. The AAT had affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse to grant the visa.

The central legal issue before the Federal Circuit Court was whether the AAT had made a reviewable error in its conduct of the review of the visa refusal. Specifically, the applicant contended that the questions posed by the Tribunal during the hearing were improper and indicative of a predetermined outcome, thereby demonstrating a failure to afford him procedural fairness.

Judge McNab found that the questions asked by the AAT were consistent with the requirements and guidelines governing the assessment of student visa applications. The Tribunal was entitled to inquire into the applicant's migration history, as this was directly relevant to its consideration of whether the applicant met the criteria for a student visa, including the genuine temporary entrant requirement. The Court concluded that no reviewable error had been established.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.