Shrestha v Minister for Immigration

In *Shrestha v Minister for Immigration*, the applicant, Mr Shrestha, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant him a visa. The dispute concerned the Minister's assessment of Mr Shrestha's eligibility for the visa, specifically in relation to character requirements. The matter was heard by Driver J in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the visa, based on adverse information concerning Mr Shrestha's character, was affected by jurisdictional error. This involved determining whether the Minister had properly considered all relevant information and whether the adverse information had been assessed in accordance with the applicable legislative framework, particularly concerning the weight to be given to such information and the opportunity for the applicant to respond.

Driver J found that the Minister had failed to properly consider the adverse information provided by Mr Shrestha in response to the notification of the proposed refusal. The Court held that the Minister was required to give genuine consideration to the applicant's submissions and that a failure to do so constituted a jurisdictional error. The principle applied was that administrative decision-makers must act in accordance with the law and afford procedural fairness to applicants.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.