Davis v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCAFC 213

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Davis v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCAFC 213 Appeal from: Davis v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2020] FCA 791 DCM20 v Secretary, Department of Home Affairs [2020] FCA 1022

File numbers: VID 399 of 2020 NSD 831 of 2020

Judgment of: KENNY, BESANKO, GRIFFITHS, MORTIMER AND CHARLESWORTH JJ

Date of judgment: 23 November 2021

Catchwords: MIGRATION – appeals from orders dismissing applications for judicial review – where the appellants each made applications for Ministerial intervention under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) – where the Minister had issued Guidelines to officers prescribing the circumstances in which such requests are to be brought to his attention – where officers concluded the requests for intervention did not satisfy the criteria for referral in the Guidelines and so refused to refer the requests to the Minister – nature of the officers' decisions – whether the officers' decisions were judicially reviewable by the Federal Court of Australia – whether the decisions were judicially reviewable on the ground of legal unreasonableness – whether the decisions were affected by legal unreasonableness – appeals dismissed

Legislation: Constitution ss 61, 64, 75, Ch III Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) ss 19, 19A Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) ss 8, 16 Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) s 28 Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) ss 39B, 78B Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ss 4, 5, 13, 14, 31, 37, 48A, 48B, 116, 189, 195A, 198, 349, 351, 417, 474, 476, 476A, 499, 501J, 504 Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) Act 2021 (Cth) Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) Sch. 2, cl. 050.212