Tuberi v Federal Court of Australia & Anor

The plaintiff, Mr Tuberi, a Fijian citizen, sought constitutional or other writs from the High Court of Australia. This followed the Federal Court's refusal to grant him an extension of time to seek judicial review of the Minister's decision not to revoke the mandatory cancellation of his visa, which had occurred due to criminal convictions. Mr Tuberi argued that the Federal Court judge, Steward J, applied too high a threshold for the "interests of the administration of justice" test under s 477A(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) when assessing the merit of his proposed application.

The High Court was required to determine whether Steward J erred in law by applying an impermissibly high threshold in assessing the merit of Mr Tuberi's application for an extension of time to seek judicial review. The Court also considered whether Mr Tuberi's application for constitutional writs was itself without merit and whether it was filed within the prescribed time limits.

The Court found that Steward J correctly identified and applied the relevant factors for considering an extension of time, including the merits of the proposed application. Steward J concluded that Mr Tuberi's proposed grounds of review lacked any real prospect of success, a finding that Mr Tuberi did not challenge. The High Court held that Steward J did not apply too high a threshold and that there was no error in his Honour's decision. Furthermore, Mr Tuberi's application for a writ of mandamus in the High Court was significantly out of time and lacked any explanation for the delay, and the application for constitutional writs was found to have no arguable basis.

Consequently, the High Court dismissed Mr Tuberi's application for constitutional or other writs. The Court ordered that the application be dismissed with costs.