Bodruddaza v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

Constitutional law – High Court - Constitutional writs - Availability of constitutional relief in the High Court's original jurisdiction - A delegate of the respondent cancelled the plaintiff's visa - s 486A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) purported to place a time limit on applications to the High Court exercising its original jurisdiction - The plaintiff applied for relief outside this time limit - Whether s 486A applies to the plaintiff's application - s 51(xxxix) of the Constitution conferred on Parliament power to regulate procedures for seeking relief under s 75(v) of the Constitution - To what extent this power is limited by the constitutional purposes of s 75(v) - Significance of s 75(v) in the federal scheme - Whether s 486A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) is valid.

Certiorari – Interrelationship with s 75(v) of the Constitution - Whether s 486A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) validly regulated the authority of the High Court to grant certiorari to the plaintiff.

Immigration – Cancellation of visa - The plaintiff's visa was cancelled because of a failure to meet language skills qualifications in the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) - Whether the decision to cancel the plaintiff's visa amounted to jurisdictional error.

Statutes – Statutory Construction - Presumption that words in the singular include the plural - Item 6A31 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) fixed on what transpired "in a test" - Whether presumption vitiated by the text of Item 6A31 of the Migration Regulations.

Words and phrases – "purported privative clause decision", "migration decision", "in a test".

Constitution – ss 51(xxxix), 73, 75(v). High Court Rules, rr 4.02, 25.06.1.

Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) – ss 33, 32.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth) – s 486A.

Migration Litigation Reform Act 2005 (Cth).

Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) – reg 2.26A(2)(a)(iv), Sched 2, Item 880.222, Sched 6A, Pt 2, Sched 6A, Pt 3, Item 6A31.