Tonmoy v Minister for Home Affairs and Anor (No.2)

In *Tonmoy v Minister for Home Affairs and Anor (No.2)*, the applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to dismiss their application for a Student (Temporary) (class TU) visa. The applicant had failed to appear at a scheduled hearing before the AAT, and their subsequent application to reinstate the proceedings was refused. The applicant contended that the AAT had erred in refusing to grant an adjournment and that this refusal constituted jurisdictional error.

The central legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the AAT's refusal to grant an adjournment, in circumstances where the applicant failed to appear at a hearing, amounted to jurisdictional error. The applicant argued that the AAT had not adequately considered their reasons for non-attendance and that the refusal to adjourn prevented them from presenting their case, thereby vitiating the subsequent dismissal of their visa application.

Justice Street found that the applicant had not established a sufficiently arguable case of jurisdictional error. The Court noted that the AAT had considered the applicant's application for reinstatement and the reasons provided for their failure to appear. The refusal to grant an adjournment was a decision within the AAT's powers, and the applicant had not demonstrated that this decision was so unreasonable or illogical as to constitute a jurisdictional error. Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.