A Hilkemeijer

Arbitrary ministerial power under the Migration Act: permanent residents beware!

Under recent amendments to the Migration Act, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection may cancel or refuse a visa if they suspect that a person belongs to a group, other members of which they suspect are involved in criminal conduct. A visa may be cancelled without first hearing the person affected and there is only limited opportunity for judicial review: confidential police and intelligence information forming the basis of the decision may be withheld from both the person affected and the Court. The operation of this set of statutory powers diminishes the rule of law in Australia. This is demonstrated by examining the 2016 Federal Court of Australia’s decision in Roach v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCA 750 in light of Martin Krygier’s definition of arbitrary power.