Wang & Anor v Secretary, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

The applicants, Mr and Mrs Wang, sought judicial review of a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to refuse their application for a protection visa. The Federal Court of Australia was required to determine whether the delegate of the Minister had erred in law in refusing the visa application.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate had failed to consider relevant considerations and had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the applicants' claims for a protection visa. Specifically, the Court examined whether the delegate had adequately considered the applicants' evidence regarding their fear of persecution in their country of origin and whether the delegate had improperly relied on information from a country information report that was not disclosed to the applicants.

Kirby and Heydon JJ found that the delegate had indeed failed to consider relevant evidence and had taken into account irrelevant considerations. Their Honours held that the delegate's assessment of the applicants' credibility was flawed and that the delegate had not properly engaged with the specific claims made by Mr and Mrs Wang. The Court emphasised the importance of procedural fairness in administrative decision-making, particularly in matters concerning protection visas, and reiterated that decision-makers must genuinely consider all evidence presented by an applicant.

The Court ordered that the decision of the delegate be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.