WZATX v Minister for Immigration

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia heard an application for judicial review brought by WZATX, a citizen of Sri Lanka, concerning a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding their application for a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa. The core of the dispute involved the AAT's assessment of WZATX's claim for complementary protection.

The court was required to determine whether the AAT committed an error of law in its review of WZATX's visa application. Specifically, the court considered whether the AAT failed to adequately consider all aspects of WZATX's claim, whether it erred in its application of the "what if I am wrong" test, and whether it had an obligation to make further inquiries. The court also examined whether the AAT's reliance on an earlier Tribunal decision constituted an error and whether any such errors amounted to jurisdictional error.

Judge Lucev found that the AAT had made a jurisdictional error by failing to properly consider the entirety of WZATX's claim for complementary protection. The Tribunal's reliance on a previous decision, without conducting a fresh and comprehensive assessment of the applicant's circumstances, was deemed insufficient. The court concluded that the AAT had not undertaken a proper review of the evidence before it, particularly in relation to the specific vulnerabilities raised by WZATX. The application to amend the application and rely on an additional ground was also considered, but the primary focus of the decision was on the errors made by the AAT in its substantive review.