Zakhem (Migration)

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia considered an application for judicial review in *Zakhem (Migration)*. The applicant, Mr Zakhem, sought to challenge a decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse his application for a Visitor (Class FA) visa, subclass 600.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate of the Minister had erred in finding that Mr Zakhem was not a genuine temporary entrant. This involved assessing whether the delegate had properly considered all relevant factors, including Mr Zakhem's previous compliant visits to Australia, when forming the view that he intended to remain in Australia temporarily.

Her Honour Justice Lamont found that the delegate had failed to adequately consider the applicant's history of compliant temporary visits to Australia. The delegate's reasoning did not sufficiently explain how this history was weighed against other factors in the assessment of whether Mr Zakhem was a genuine temporary entrant. Consequently, the Court determined that the decision under review was affected by jurisdictional error. The matter was remitted to the Minister for redetermination according to law.