SZSUA v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application for judicial review brought by SZSUA against the Minister for Immigration. The applicant sought to challenge a decision made by the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) concerning their claims for protection under the *Migration Act 1957* (Cth). The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the RRT had committed jurisdictional error in its decision-making process.

The court was required to determine whether the RRT had failed to comply with section 430(1) of the *Migration Act 1957* (Cth) by not setting out adequate reasons for its decision, including findings on material questions of fact and the evidence upon which those findings were based. The applicant contended that this failure constituted jurisdictional error.

The court reasoned that a mere failure to comply with the formal requirements of section 430(1) does not, in itself, amount to jurisdictional error. Instead, such a failure may provide grounds for inferring that the RRT made a jurisdictional error. Drawing on the High Court's decision in *Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Yusuf*, the court explained that section 430(1) serves to ensure transparency in the RRT's decision-making, enabling dissatisfied parties and reviewing courts to understand the reasons for the decision and the factual basis upon which it was reached. The court noted that if the RRT fails to set out its findings, it may be inferred that it did not consider certain matters to be material, which could reveal an error of law or jurisdictional error, such as taking into account irrelevant considerations or failing to consider relevant ones.