Vargas v Minister for Home Affairs [2021] FCA 276

Federal Court of Australia

Vargas v Minister for Home Affairs [2021] FCA 276 Application for Review Vargas and Minister for Home Affairs (Migration) [2019] AATA 3409

File number: QUD 120 of 2020

Judgment of: REEVES J

Date of judgment: 25 March 2021

Catchwords: MIGRATION – application under s 476A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act) for judicial review of a migration decision – where the Minister used his discretion under s 501BA of the Act to set aside a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal made under s 501CA of the Act, which decision revoked an earlier decision of the Minister under s 501(3A) of the Act – where the Minister was satisfied that it was in the national interest under s 501BA(2) to cancel the applicant's visa and that the applicant did not pass the character test – whether the Minister's refusal to afford natural justice was unreasonable – whether the Minister's disagreement with a comment by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that the applicant is not a "threat to all women" is a finding that is "illogical, irrational or unreasonable" – whether the Minister failed to apply any "active intellectual process" to certain matters affecting his decision – whether the Minister failed to take into account materials before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that were a mandatory relevant consideration – application dismissed

Legislation: Migration Act 1958 (Cth)

Cases cited: Hughes v The Queen (2017) 263 CLR 338; [2017] HCA 20 Ibrahim v Minister for Home Affairs (2019) 270 FCR 12; [2019] FCAFC 89 Minister for Home Affairs v Brown (2020) 275 FCR 188; [2020] FCAFC 21 Minister for Home Affairs v Omar (2019) 272 FCR 589; [2019] FCAFC 188 Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v SZMTA (2019) 264 CLR 421; [2019] HCA 3 Plaintiff M64/2015 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2015) 258 CLR 173; [2015] HCA 50