NACW of 2002 v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs [2002] FCA 1455

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NACW of 2002 v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs [2002] FCA 1455 APPLICANT NACW OF 2002 & ORS v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS N 143 OF 2002 STONE J 19 NOVEMBER 2002 SYDNEY

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY N 143 OF 2002

BETWEEN: APPLICANT NACW OF 2002

FIRST APPLICANT

APPLICANT NACX OF 2002

SECOND APPLICANT

APPLICANT NACY OF 2002

THIRD APPLICANT

APPLICANT NACZ OF 2002

FOURTH APPLICANT

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

RESPONDENT

JUDGE: STONE J

DATE OF ORDER: 19 NOVEMBER 2002

WHERE MADE: SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT: 1. The application be dismissed. 2. The applicants pay the respondent's costs. Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY N 143 OF 2002

BETWEEN: APPLICANT NACW OF 2002

FIRST APPLICANT

APPLICANT NACX OF 2002

SECOND APPLICANT

APPLICANT NACY OF 2002

THIRD APPLICANT

APPLICANT NACZ OF 2002

FOURTH APPLICANT

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

RESPONDENT

JUDGE: STONE J

DATE: 19 NOVEMBER 2002

PLACE: SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 The four applicants in this proceeding are citizens of Bangladesh. Two of the applicants are husband and wife. The other two applicants are their children. Applications for protection visas under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("Act") have been made by, or on behalf of, each applicant. For this reason, and pursuant to s 91X the Act, the Court is prevented from publishing their names. While it is not my preferred course, for the purposes of this judgment, and because individual applications were made by the husband and wife, each applicant will be referred to by the pseudonym allocated to them by the Court. 2 The wife, applicant NACW, and her two children (applicants NACY and NACZ) arrived in Australia on 9 February 1996 and lodged applications for protection visas on 8 March 1996. As the two children did not have individual claims to refugee status their claims for protection visas depend on the outcome of their parents' claim. The husband, applicant NACX, arrived in Australia on 11 May 1997 and lodged his protection visa application on 16 June 1997. Both applicants NACW and NACX claim to have a well-founded fear of persecution if they return to Bangladesh because of their political opinions. A delegate of the respondent refused their applications for protection visas on 20 October 1997. The Refugee Review Tribunal ("the Tribunal") affirmed that decision on 7 February 2002.