The Attorney-General for the Commonwealth & "Kevin and Jennifer" & Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

The Attorney-General for the Commonwealth, along with "Kevin and Jennifer" and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, were parties before the Full Federal Court. The central dispute concerned the validity of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a visa to a person who identified as a transgender woman, and who had undergone gender reassignment surgery. The applicants sought judicial review of the Minister's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Full Federal Court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the visa was unlawful by reason of being contrary to the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth). Specifically, the court had to consider whether the Minister's assessment of the applicant's gender identity and the implications of that identity for the purpose of visa assessment were legally sound, particularly in light of the applicant's surgical transition.

The Full Federal Court found that the Minister's decision was vitiated by an error of law. The court held that the Minister had failed to properly consider the applicant's gender identity as a transgender woman, which had been established through medical and surgical intervention. The court applied principles of administrative law, emphasizing that decision-makers must take into account all relevant considerations and disregard irrelevant ones. It was determined that the Minister's approach, which appeared to treat the applicant as male for immigration purposes despite her established female gender identity, was legally erroneous and failed to accord with the applicant's actual circumstances.

Consequently, the Full Federal Court quashed the Minister's decision and remitted the matter to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.