Win v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

In the case of Win v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, the respondent, a Burmese national, appealed against the decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) which had dismissed his application for a review of a decision to refuse him a protection visa. The RRT had received a letter from an informant after the hearing, which contained new information. The primary issue for the court was whether this letter constituted "information" under section 424 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and if the RRT was entitled to take it into account. A secondary issue was whether section 425 of the Act required the RRT to afford the respondent a further hearing.

The court found that the letter from the informant was indeed "information" within the meaning of section 424 of the Act. This was because the information was relevant to the respondent's claim for a protection visa. However, the court held that the RRT was not required to afford the respondent a further hearing under section 425. The court reasoned that section 425 did not mandate a further hearing unless the Minister requested one, and in this case, the Minister had not done so. The court also noted that the RRT had considered the information in light of all the evidence before it and had made a decision based on the merits of the case. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed.