Case: Rahman v Minister for Immigration &amp; Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 1277
Outcome: referred to
This takes me to the sixth of the Minister's grounds on the hearing of the appeal. On the one hand, the authorities establish that the Tribunal has no general obligation to initiate enquiries or to make out an applicant's case for him or her. These authorities stretch back over the life of the Tribunal: see, for example, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs v SGLB [2004] HCA 32 ; (2004) 207 ALR 12 at 21-22 per Gummow and Hayne JJ (with whom Gleeson CJ agreed) and 49 per Callinan J; Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs v VSAF [2005] FCAFC 73 at [20] per Black CJ, Sundberg and Bennett JJ; SBBA v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 90 (" SBBA ") at [8] per Weinberg, Stone and Jacobson JJ; Mohammed v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] FCAFC 47 at [24] per Moore, North and Emmett JJ; SJSB v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCAFC 225 at [16] per Ryan, Jacobson and Lander JJ; WAGJ v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2002] FCAFC 277 at [25] per Heerey, RD Nicholson and Mansfield JJ; NBDF v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2006] FCA 1355 at [24] - [25] per Branson J ; Tide Sequence Industries Pty Ltd v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] FCA 751 ; (2005) 145 FCR 155 at 174 per Conti J; Hong v Minister for Immigration and Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCA 1308 at [40] per Finn J; NAYU v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCA 528 at [20] - [21] per Jacobson J; Rahman v Minister for Immigration &amp; Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 1277 (" Rahman ") at [29] per French J; Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Anthonypillai [2001] FCA 274 ; (2001) 106 FCR 426 (" Anthonypillai ") at 445 per Heerey, Goldberg and Weinberg JJ; Kabir v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2001) 184 ALR 295 at 305-306 per Katz J; Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Cassim [2000] HCA 50 ; (2000) 175 ALR 209 at 212-213 per McHugh J; Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Singh (1997) 74 FCR 553 at 560-561 per Lee J; and Prasad v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1985) 6 FCR 155 (" Prasad ") at 169-170 per Wilcox J. On the other hand, there is authority for the limited proposition that, in certain rare or exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal's failure to enquire may ground a finding of jurisdictional error because the failure may render the ensuing decision manifestly unreasonable in the sense used in Associated Provincial Picture Houses v Wednesbury Corporation [1947] EWCA Civ 1 ; [1948] 1 KB 223 (" Wednesbury Corporation "). 63 The concept of vitiating unreasonableness has been extended to the manner in which a decision was made. Thus, a failure by a decision-maker to obtain important information on a critical issue, which the decision-maker knows or ought reasonably to know is readily available, may be characterized as so unreasonable that no reasonable decision-maker would proceeded to make the decision without making the enquiry: see Prasad at 169-170 per Wilcox J; Videto v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1985) 8 FCR 167 (" Videto ") at 178 per Toohey J; Luu v Renevier (1989) 91 ALR 39 (" Luu v Renevier ") at 47-50 per Davies, Wilcox and Pincus JJ; Detsongjarus v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1990) 21 ALD 139 (" Detsongjarus ") at 143 per Pincus J; Rahman at [30] per French J; Tickner v Bropho (1993) 40 FCR 183 at 197-198 per Black CJ; Ahamed v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 1325 at [12] per French J; Yang v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 258 ; (2003) 132 FCR 571 (" Yang ") at 579 per Ryan and Finkelstein JJ. This proposition is also discussed in other cases, such as Li v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (1997) 74 FCR 275 at 288 per Foster J and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh [1995] HCA 20 ; (1995) 183 CLR 273 at 289-90 per Mason CJ and Deane J and 321 per McHugh J. In this circumstance what vitiates the decision is the manner in which it was made. Since this is a limited proposition, it does not conflict with the larger statement that the Tribunal is under no general duty with respect to making enquiries: see Prasad at 169-170 per Wilcox J and Azzi v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2002] FCA 24 ; (2002) 120 FCR 48 at 73-74 per Allsop J; but contrast SZEGT v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] FCA 1514 at [20] - [22] per Edmonds J.