SWBB v MIMIA & Anor; STJB v MIMIA & Anor

These cases concerned appeals from decisions of the Federal Court of Australia regarding the interpretation of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth). The appellants, SWBB and STJB, were individuals who had sought to challenge decisions made by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (MIMIA) concerning their visa applications. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the Minister's decisions were amenable to judicial review under the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act* or if they were excluded by operation of the *Migration Act*.

The High Court was required to determine whether the decisions of the Minister to refuse to grant a visa, and to refuse to revoke a mandatory visa cancellation, were decisions to which the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act* applied. Specifically, the Court had to consider the effect of s 500(1) of the *Migration Act*, which purports to exclude judicial review of certain decisions, and the interaction between this provision and the general right to seek review of administrative decisions. The central legal question was whether the Minister's decisions fell within the scope of s 500(1) and were therefore unreviewable under the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act*.

The Court reasoned that s 500(1) of the *Migration Act* was a valid and effective provision that excluded the jurisdiction of the Federal Court to review the decisions in question under the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act*. Gleeson CJ and Gummow J held that the language of s 500(1) was clear and unambiguous in its intention to withdraw certain decisions from the purview of judicial review. They applied the principle that where a specific statutory provision, such as s 500(1), clearly indicates an intention to exclude judicial review, that intention must be given effect, even if it limits the availability of review under a more general statute like the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act*. The Court found that the decisions made by the Minister in these cases were precisely the types of decisions that s 500(1) was designed to render unreviewable.

The appeals were dismissed.