Ministerial Intervention
Under the Migration Act 1958, the Minister for Home Affairs holds the authority of ministerial intervention, which empowers them to intervene and replace a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on an individual’s migration case.
The Minister is not legally obligated to intervene, but they can make a decision that is more favourable to the visa applicant if they believe it is in the public’s interest to do so.
It must also be considered a unique and exceptional case.
The Department of Home Affairs (Department) advises that only a small number of requests for ministerial intervention are referred to the Minister and an even smaller amount are successful.
Ministerial Intervention: When Does It Not Apply?
Ministerial Intervention is not available in the following circumstances:
- there is no review decision by a merits review tribunal
- a Minister has already intervened to grant a visa
- a tribunal has found that it does not have jurisdiction to review a decision
- a tribunal has found that the review application was made outside the time limits
- a tribunal has returned the case to the Department for further consideration and one of the Department’s decision-makers has made a subsequent decision on the case.
Examples of Ministerial Intervention:
Examples of where the minister has intervened are:
Example 1: A Bhutanese family faced deportation as their deaf son was previously deemed a ‘cost’ to Australian taxpayers.
The family was granted permanent residency after a ministerial intervention.
Example 2: A visa applicant from Lebanon was rejected for a protection visa and a subsequent medical treatment visa.
A request for ministerial intervention was then made for several reasons, including living in Australia for 18 years and not having access to medical treatment in his home country.
The visa applicant was able to remain in Australia.
Contact Us
For professional consultation on seeking Ministerial Intervention in your visa case, contact Bambrick Legal today:
- Schedule a professional consultation with our specialists here
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