Tuli v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs

In the case of Tuli v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs, the applicant, a citizen of New Zealand who had been residing in Australia since the age of 16, sought judicial review of decisions made by the respondent, the Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs. These decisions included the cancellation of his Special Category Visa, the denial of a bridging visa, and the declaration of the applicant as an excluded person under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The applicant argued that the decisions to declare him an excluded person were subject to broader judicial review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1978 (Cth), rather than the more limited review provided for under s 476 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The court was tasked with determining whether the decisions under s 502 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) were "decisions relating to visas" within the meaning of s 475 of that Act. The court concluded that the decisions to declare the applicant an excluded person were indeed "decisions relating to visas." The reasoning was based on the close relationship between the visa cancellation decisions and the decisions to declare the applicant an excluded person, as well as the broad interpretation of the phrase "relating to visas." The court found that the decisions under s 502 were inextricably linked to the visa decisions and thus fell within the scope of s 476 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) for review.

Consequently, the court dismissed the applicant's application for judicial review and ordered that the applicant pay the respondent's costs of the application. The court reiterated that its role was limited to determining whether the respondent's decisions were made in accordance with the law, rather than the merits of the decisions themselves.