Save the Children Australia v Minister for Home Affairs [2023] FCA 1343

Federal Court of Australia

Save the Children Australia v Minister for Home Affairs [2023] FCA 1343 File number: VID 403 of 2023

Judgment of: MOSHINSKY J

Date of judgment: 3 November 2023

Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – habeas corpus – where Australian women and their children were being detained by a non-state actor in camps in North-East Syria – where the applicant (a registered charity with the purpose of supporting children in need) applied for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus against the Minister for Home Affairs and the Commonwealth – where the respondents did not have custody of the relevant women and children – whether the respondents had control over the detention of the relevant women and children – whether the writ should issue to test whether the respondents had control over the detention of the relevant women and children – held: application for writ of habeas corpus refused ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – judicial review – where Australian women and their children were being detained by a non-state actor in camps in North-East Syria – where the applicant (a registered charity with the purpose of supporting children in need) applied for judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Home Affairs or another officer of the Commonwealth not to repatriate the relevant women and children – where there was no evidence of such a decision having been made – where the applicant applied, in the alternative, for relief in relation to a failure by the respondents to decide whether or not to repatriate the relevant women and children – whether the respondents were under a requirement to decide whether to repatriate the women and children – held: application for judicial review refused