Singh v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

This matter concerned an application for an adjournment of a judicial review hearing brought by the applicant, Mr Gurvikramjit Singh, before Lucev J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. Mr Singh sought to adjourn the hearing, which had been listed for 12 July 2021, to obtain legal advice and prepare submissions. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs opposed the adjournment.

The Court was required to determine whether to grant Mr Singh's application for an adjournment, considering the extensive delays that had already occurred in the proceedings since the initial application for judicial review was filed in October 2016. The Court also had to weigh the applicant's stated need for legal advice and preparation time against the Minister's submission that Mr Singh had been afforded ample opportunity to prepare his case and seek legal representation.

Lucev J reasoned that while Mr Singh had failed to comply with previous court orders, including the filing of submissions, several factors weighed in favour of granting an adjournment. These included the significant passage of time since the matter was first listed, Mr Singh's lack of legal representation, and the fact that English was not his first language, indicating a limited understanding of the legal process. The Court noted that obtaining legal advice and preparing submissions would likely take more time than the period Mr Singh had available. Furthermore, the Court observed that the migration caseload in the Perth Registry had significantly decreased, meaning any adjournment would likely result in only a short delay. The Court concluded that, in the interests of justice, an adjournment was appropriate.

The Court ordered that the final hearing, previously listed for 12 July 2021, be adjourned to 12:00 pm AEDST / 9:00 am AWST on 5 October 2021.