SZSEU v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, SZSEU, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute concerned the Minister's assessment of whether SZSEU would be a person to whom Australia has protection obligations under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before Driver J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's delegate had erred in law by failing to adequately consider and assess the evidence provided by SZSEU regarding the risk of persecution they faced in their country of origin. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if the delegate's adverse credibility findings were reasonably open on the evidence, and if the delegate had properly applied the relevant legal principles concerning the assessment of protection claims.

Driver J found that the delegate's adverse credibility findings were not reasonably open on the evidence before them. The delegate had failed to engage with significant portions of the evidence, including expert reports and documentary material, which cast doubt on the delegate's conclusions. The Court reiterated the principle that adverse credibility findings must be based on a proper and comprehensive consideration of all the evidence, and that a failure to do so constitutes an error of law. The delegate's assessment was therefore found to be vitiated by this failure.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister's delegate be set aside and remitted to the Minister for redetermination according to law.