SZSTD v Minister for Immigration & Border Protection

The applicant, SZSTD, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant, who claimed to be a citizen of Sri Lanka, alleged that he had been persecuted in his home country due to his political opinion and membership of a particular social group. The Minister's delegate had refused the protection visa application, finding that the applicant's claims were not credible and that he would not be at risk of persecution if returned to Sri Lanka. The matter came before Emmett J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate's decision to refuse the protection visa was affected by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if the delegate had failed to properly consider the applicant's claims of persecution, particularly in relation to the assessment of his credibility and the application of the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). The Court also considered whether the delegate had adequately addressed the risk of harm the applicant might face upon return to Sri Lanka.

Emmett J found that the delegate had made a jurisdictional error by failing to adequately consider the evidence presented by the applicant and by adopting an erroneous approach to the assessment of credibility. His Honour held that the delegate had not properly engaged with the applicant's detailed account of his experiences and the reasons for his fear of persecution. The Court reiterated the principle that a delegate must genuinely consider all relevant evidence and provide reasons that are sufficiently detailed to demonstrate that consideration. The delegate's reasons were found to be deficient in this regard, leading to the conclusion that the decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error.

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