Immigration – Refugees – Application for protection visa – Power of Minister under s 65 of Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to grant or refuse to grant visa – Where visa criterion in Sch 2, cl 790.227 of Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) required Minister to be satisfied grant of visa in national interest – Where plaintiff convicted of aggravated offence of people smuggling – Where Minister personally refused to grant plaintiff protection visa – Where sole basis for decision that cl 790.227 not satisfied – Where Minister conceded all other criteria for grant of visa met – Where Minister did not exercise power to refuse visa under s 501 of Act – Whether cl 790.227 permitted Minister to refuse to grant visa solely on ground that not in national interest to grant visa to person convicted of people smuggling – Proper construction of cl 790.227 – Whether Minister's decision authorised by cl 790.227.
Statutes – Interpretation – Context – Construction of visa criterion in Regulations – Where Act of Parliament inserted criterion into existing Regulations made by Governor General.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Certiorari and mandamus.
Words and phrases – "character test", "mandamus", "national interest", "people smuggling", "personally", "protection visa", "refugee", "unauthorised maritime arrival", "visa refusal".
Migration Act 1958 (Cth), ss 47, 65, 233C, 501.
Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Sch 2, cl 790.227; Sch 4, Pt 1, cl 4001.
Judgment date
Case number
S102/2022
Before
Kiefel CJ, Gageler, Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot JJ
Catchwords