SZOWH v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, a Chinese national, sought judicial review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal, which had affirmed a delegate’s refusal of a protection visa. The applicant claimed she would be subject to religious persecution if returned to China. The Federal Court heard and dismissed the application for judicial review, and ordered the applicant to pay costs. The Court also referred the conduct of the applicant’s migration agent to the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

The applicant argued the Tribunal had failed to consider her credibility, and that there were errors in the Tribunal’s consideration of her evidence. The Minister submitted that the Tribunal had properly assessed the applicant’s credibility and evidence, and that there were no errors of law warranting judicial intervention. The Court held that there was no jurisdictional error, and that the Tribunal had properly exercised its discretion in reaching its decision.

The Court found that the Tribunal’s approach to assessing the applicant’s credibility was correct. The Tribunal had identified inconsistencies in the applicant’s evidence and found that they were not satisfactorily explained. The Tribunal had also rejected the applicant’s evidence because it found that it was not credible, and that the applicant had supplied fabricated evidence to her agent after the hearing. The Court held that the Tribunal’s approach was consistent with the relevant statutory provisions, and that it had properly exercised its discretion in reaching its decision.

The Court found that the applicant’s migration agent had engaged in unprofessional conduct by assisting the applicant to provide fabricated evidence to the Tribunal. The Court referred the matter to the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority, for whatever action it deemed appropriate. The Court dismissed the application, and ordered the applicant to pay the Minister’s costs and disbursements.