ABT17 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

Immigration – Refugees – Application for protection visa – Immigration Assessment Authority ("IAA") – Review by IAA under Pt 7AA of Migration Act 1958 (Cth) – Where delegate of Minister for Immigration and Border Protection ("Minister") refused to grant appellant temporary protection visa – Where delegate accepted appellant's account as plausible, but found appellant did not hold well-founded fear of persecution based on country information – Where delegate's decision referred to IAA for review – Where IAA affirmed delegate's decision – Where IAA departed from delegate's assessment of appellant's credibility – Where under s 473DB IAA generally required to review fast track reviewable decision by considering review material, and without accepting new information or interviewing applicant – Where under s 473DC IAA may get new information not before Minister and that IAA considers may be relevant, including by inviting applicant to interview – Where under s 473DD IAA must not consider new information unless satisfied there are exceptional circumstances, and that new information was not and could not have been before Minister or is credible personal information – Whether legally unreasonable for IAA to depart from delegate's assessment of appellant's credibility without inviting appellant to interview – Whether appellant's demeanour "new information" within meaning of s 473DC – Whether failure to invite appellant to interview was material to IAA's decision.

Words and phrases – "credibility", "de novo review", "demeanour", "fast track reviewable decision", "Immigration Assessment Authority", "informational gap", "interview", "legal unreasonableness", "material", "materiality", "new information", "review material", "temporary protection visa".

Migration Act 1958 (Cth) – Pt 7AA, ss 473DB, 473DC, 473DD.