Abbasi v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2001] FCA 1274

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Abbasi v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2001] FCA 1274

IMMIGRATION – where Department provided Tribunal with information from files of members of the applicant's family who were also applying for protection visas – where information provided to the Department in confidence in support of those person's applications for visas – whether Secretary to the Department was obliged to notify the Tribunal in writing that s 438 of the Act applied to that information – whether failure to notify was a breach of s 476 – where if notice was given, the Tribunal was required to give a direction under s 440 – whether failure to give that direction was a breach of s 476 – whether personal information provided to the Department in support of a visa application is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 – whether inference could be drawn that each member of the applicant's family seeking protection visas consented to the use of information in each other's application – whether relief would have been refused on discretionary grounds in any event. Migration Act 1958 (Cth) Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Coco v AN Clark Engineers (1996) RPC 4 cited Applicant N – 106 of 2000 v MIMA [2000] FCA 866 cited Hitchcock v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2000] NSWCA 82 referred to MIMA v Yusuf [2001] HCA 30 cited Ragunathan v MIMA [2001] FCA 1142 followed Smith Kline & French Laboratories (Australia) Ltd v Secretary, Department of Community Services & Health (199) 22 FCR 73 followed The King v Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration; Ex parte Ozone Theatres (Aust.) Ltd (1949) 78 CLR 389 followed Qiu v MIMA (1994) 55 FCR 439 followed Goldie v Commonwealth [2000] FCA 1873 followed BAHMAN ABBASI v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS NO. N 394 OF 2001 BEAUMONT J 21 SEPTEMBER 2001 SYDNEY