Morgan v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2025] FCA 266

The Federal Court's (McDonald J) recent judgment in Morgan v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2025] FCA 266 dealt with the Minister's personal decision to exercise his power under s 501BA(2) to set aside the Tribunal's decision and re-cancel the applicant's visa, over 9 months after the Tribunal's decision. I appeared for the applicant in this matter, and the judgment is interesting and significant in that, even though the Court found that there was no unreasonable delay in this matter, the Court nevertheless concluded that if the Minister fails to make a decision within a reasonable time, the appropriate remedy is not Mandamus but Certiorari. In essence, if the Minister makes a decision outside the reasonable time, it would be the purported exercise of a power that the Minister no longer possesses, and therefore Certiorari would be the appropriate relief to quash the decision.

 Morgan v Minister  for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2025] FCA 266