The decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
12 The FCCA considered that the merits of the substantive application were relevant to determining whether it was necessary in the administration of justice to make an order extending time. In relation to the approach to be taken to the assessment of merits, the FCCA set out at [41] and [42] the following passages from the reasons of Mortimer J in MZABP v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2015) 242 FCR 585 at [63] and [66] -
[63] The correct approach may be expressed by the use of language such as whether a ground is "arguable", "reasonably arguable", "sufficiently arguable" or has "reasonable prospects of success" (see SZTES [2015] FCA 719 at [48]; SZRIQ at [46]-[48]). Whichever description is chosen, the approach taken under s 477(2) should not be transformed into a de facto full hearing, especially where the outcome is not subject to any appeal as of right. The subject matter of s 477(2) is whether time for bringing a judicial review application, which is to be heard and determined in the ordinary course of the processes of the Federal Circuit Court, should be extended. The subject matter is not whether the applicant will ultimately be successful in impugning the merits review decision.
…
[66] … In my opinion, unless the grounds are hopeless in the sense I have discussed above so that simply on an impressionistic reading and consideration without full argument a judge can be confident they must fail, the better approach if the Court is otherwise satisfied it is in the interests of the administration of justice to grant an extension of time would be to do so and then to consider and determine the grounds of review with a full consideration of them. There is no reason that cannot still be done in one hearing and in my opinion it reflects a more appropriate exercise of the supervisory jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court.
13 Earlier, at [61] and [62], Mortimer J addressed the vice of determining an extension of time application after undertaking an exhaustive examination of the merits of the proposed claim -
[61] … Counsel submitted it appeared the Federal Circuit Court had decided the extension of time as if the case was fully argued, and this was an incorrect approach, especially given there is no right of appeal from the refusal to extend time: see s 476A(3)(a) of the Migration Act.
[62] This was not a matter identified in the amended application as a ground of review in relation to the Federal Circuit Court decision. It was not a matter on which the first respondent made any detailed submissions. It cannot be considered as a basis for granting any relief in this proceeding. However, lest these reasons be taken as an endorsement of the approach taken by the Federal Circuit Court, it is appropriate that I express my disquiet about the way in which the Federal Circuit Court dealt with the factor of the merits of the applicant's proposed grounds of review. As I have observed previously (see MZZIV v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2013] FCA 1203 at [6] and [16]; SZTDC v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2014] FCA 1298 at [48]), it will seldom be in the interests of the administration of justice to grant leave where an appeal has little or no prospects of success, because of the considerable additional resources expended by the parties and the Court, and the inevitable impact on other litigants who have abided by time limits and are waiting for their appeals to be heard, in circumstances where an unsuccessful outcome can be confidently predicted at the leave stage. There is, however, in that approach a level of certainty about the unsuccessful outcome which is not borne of an exhaustive preliminary examination of the grounds as if they had been fully considered, developed and argued. Rather, the certainty or confidence a judge may have about an unsuccessful outcome is because the grounds on their face, and without the detailed argument and development which attends a full hearing, are plainly hopeless. That in my opinion is the kind of threshold intended by the presence of merit as a consideration in the discretion to extend time. If a judge travels beyond an examination of the grounds at what should be a reasonably impressionistic level (see Mladenov v Secretary, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs [2014] FCA 12 at [25]; Jackamarra v Krakouer (1998) 195 CLR 516 at [7]-[9]) into a fuller consideration of the arguments for and against each ground of review, then in my respectful opinion that is not a function appropriate to a discretion such as that contained in s 477(2).
14 On appeal, the Full Court in MZABP v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCAFC 110 at [38] expressly endorsed Mortimer J's disquiet about the approach of the FCCA in that case, and endorsed what her Honour said about the proper disposition of applications for extensions of time.
15 Whether the FCCA in this case took the approach referred to by Mortimer J in MZABP at [63] and assessed the merits of the substantive application at an impressionistic level is an issue that is in dispute in this proceeding. Mortimer J went on to say at 599 [67]-[69] -
[67] In the present case, the Federal Circuit Court's reasons could be read as if the Federal Circuit Court finally determined the grounds of review. That inference arises because of the concluding expressions used in the reasons after each group of grounds of review and which I have set out at [15]-[17] above, and because of the extent of the consideration given to each ground.
[68] Whether the adoption of such an approach could properly be characterised as exceeding the Federal Circuit Court's jurisdiction is another and difficult question. In Kirk (at [74]-[75]), the plurality characterised misconstruction of a statute which leads a court to misapprehend the limits of its powers as an error which was jurisdictional in nature. If, for example, her Honour in the present case could be said to have taken the approach that it would only be in "the interests of the administration of justice" to extend time if persuaded a ground of review would succeed, then this would in my opinion reflect such a fundamental misunderstanding of the discretion in s 477(2) as to represent a misapprehension of the nature of the power there conferred.
[69] In a proceeding where this matter was not a ground on which relief was sought and was not fully addressed in submissions, it is not appropriate to determine the issue. In any event, I am not persuaded her Honour's reasons, fairly read, so clearly take the kind of erroneous approach to which I have referred.
16 In this case, commencing at [46] of the reasons, the FCCA addressed the Minister's claim that an Anshun estoppel precluded the applicant's claim for relief. The Court cited a number of authorities that have referred to the principles applicable to Anshun estoppel, including: Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd (1981) 147 CLR 589; Tomlinson v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd (2015) 256 CLR 507; and Timbercorp Finance Pty Ltd (in Liq) v Collins (2016) 259 CLR 212. The Court accepted that Anshun principles may extend to judicial review proceedings: BC v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2002] FCAFC 221; Applicant A210/2002 v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCA 579; Daniel v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (2004) 205 ALR 198; Kong v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2011) 199 FCR 375.
17 The FCCA recorded at [55] the submission of counsel for the Minister that in light of the public interest in the promotion of the efficient use of court resources and time, the finality of litigation, and the preservation of the orderly administration of justice, the failure of the applicant not to have earlier sought the relief he now sought should be characterised as unreasonable.
18 At [56] the FCCA stated that the application of the Anshun principle is discretionary, and at [57] recorded a submission on behalf of the Minister that the discretion exists in only a limited sense. It is desirable to say something about that submission.
19 In Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd (1981) 147 CLR 589 Gibbs CJ, Mason and Aickin JJ applied the following principle expressed by Wigram V-C in Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100 at p 115 [67 ER 313 at p 319] -
[W]here a given matter becomes the subject of litigation in, and of adjudication by, a Court of competent jurisdiction, the Court requires the parties to that litigation to bring forward their whole case, and will not (except under special circumstances) permit the same parties to open the same subject of litigation in respect of matter which might have been brought forward as part of the subject in contest, but which was not brought forward, only because they have, from negligence, inadvertence, or even accident, omitted part of their case. The plea of res judicata applies, except in special cases, not only to points upon which the Court was actually required by the parties to form an opinion and pronounce a judgment, but to every point which properly belonged to the subject of litigation, and which the parties, exercising reasonable diligence, might have brought forward at the time.
(emphasis added)
20 Gibbs CJ, Mason and Aickin JJ stated the principles as follows (at p 602) -
… there will be no estoppel unless it appears that the matter relied upon as a defence in the second action was so relevant to the subject matter of the first action that it would have been unreasonable not to rely on it.
21 In Champerslife Pty Ltd v Manojlovski (2010) 75 NSWLR 245 at 247 [4], Allsop P emphasised that -
The mere fact that the matter could have been raised does not mean it should have been raised (for the operation of the principle). Rather, it has to be so relevant as to make it unreasonable not to raise it.
22 The assessment of whether the failure to raise a point in an earlier proceeding was unreasonable involves a value judgment that is to be made referable to the proper conduct of modern litigation: Champerslife at 247 [3]; Truthful Endeavour Pty Ltd v Condon (2015) 233 FCR 174 at 194 [71].
23 The reference in Henderson v Henderson in the passage set out under paragraph [19] above to "except under special circumstances" has sometimes been said to support the existence of a discretion not to apply an Anshun estoppel: Macquarie Bank Ltd v National Mutual Life Association of Australia Ltd (1996) 40 NSWLR 543 at 558; Wong v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (2004) 146 FCR 10 at 17-18 [38]. In Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun (No 2) [1981] VR 81 at 89, the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria drew a distinction between a general discretion (which the primary judge had purported to exercise), and a discretion in a limited sense, which the Court (Young CJ, Anderson and Brooking JJ) explained as follows -
[W]e accept the submission of Dr. Pannam that the learned Judge, having once determined that the matter of the agreement properly belonged to the subject of the earlier litigation and might have been brought forward at the time of that litigation by the Authority, exercising reasonable diligence, had a discretion only in the sense that, although negligence, inadvertence or even accident would not suffice to excuse, he was required to consider whether special circumstances existed in the sense that justice required the non-application of the general rule (Yat Tung Investment Co. Ltd. v. Dao Heng Bank Ltd., [1975] AC 581, at p 590).
24 It appears from the above passage that the Full Court considered that there is a discretion in the sense that a court must make a value judgment by reference to a general consideration, that is, whether there are special circumstances such that a claim should be permitted (see Norbis v Norbis (1986) 161 CLR 513 at 518).
25 In relation to the power to stay a proceeding as an abuse of process, in R v Carroll (2002) 213 CLR 635, Gaudron and Gummow JJ addressed the issue whether there was a discretion, and stated at 657 [73] -
The power to stay is said to be discretionary. In this context, the word ''discretionary'' indicates that, although there are some clear categories, the circumstances in which proceedings will constitute an abuse of process cannot be exhaustively defined and, in some cases, minds may differ as to whether they do constitute an abuse. It does not indicate that there is a discretion to refuse a stay if proceedings are an abuse of process or to grant one if they are not. However, as with discretionary decisions, properly so called, appellate review of its exercise looks to whether the primary judge acted upon a wrong principle, was guided or affected by extraneous or irrelevant matters, mistook the facts, or failed to take into account some material consideration. If so, the appellate court may reach its own decision in substitution for that of the primary judge, where there are before it the materials for so doing [House v R (1936) 55 CLR 499 at 505].
26 The question whether special circumstances exist such as to hold that an Anshun estoppel should not apply has been considered in several Full Court decisions: Bryant v Commonwealth Bank of Australia (1995) 57 FCR 287; BC v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2002] FCAFC 221; SZAJB v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2008) 168 FCR 410; S635 of 2003 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] FCAFC 65 (which involved the same applicant as S635 of 2003 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs); Egglishaw v Australian Crime Commission (2007) 164 FCR 224; Australian Education Union v Lawler (2008) 169 FCR 327; and Truthful Endeavour Pty Ltd v Condon (2015) 233 FCR 174. In BC v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2002] FCAFC 221 at [28]-[30] the Full Court addressed the consideration of special circumstances in the following terms -
[28] In … Bryant v Commonwealth Bank of Australia (1995) 57 FCR 287, a Full Court of this Court at 296, referred to the passage in the opinion of the Privy Council in Yat Tung [[1975] AC 581at 590] as demonstrating:
"… that their Lordships thought that "special circumstances" comprehended situations where, for broad discretionary considerations relating to notions of justice, Henderson v Henderson should not be applied with full rigour."
[29] Again, in our view, their Honours cannot be taken to have decided the question whether a conclusion about the existence of "special circumstances" amounted to the exercise of a discretion in the House v R sense. Their Honours assessed for themselves whether there were special circumstances and did not seem to be troubled by any notion of restraint in reviewing the primary judge's decision on the Anshun point, although they agreed with that decision.
[30] In our opinion, the better approach is, with respect, that taken by the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Anshun (No 2) i.e. that once a court has found that the Anshun principle applies, then the only "discretion" which the court may exercise not to apply the Anshun principle is if it finds that "special circumstances" exist. That is essentially a finding of fact to which the rule in House v R has no application.
27 More recently, in Truthful Endeavour Pty Ltd v Condon (2015) 233 FCR 174 the Full Court (Allsop CJ, Katzmann and Gleeson JJ), after holding that the respondent had not acted unreasonably, stated by way of obiter at 200 [112] -
The expression "special circumstances" comes from Henderson v Henderson. The approach of the High Court differs in this respect from the approach taken in the United Kingdom. The Australian approach is to focus at the outset on all the relevant circumstances or, as Wilcox J put it in Ling v Commonwealth [(1996) 68 FCR 180 at 184], "all aspects of the case". If it were necessary to decide whether the matters raised in the notice of contention amounted to special circumstances so as to defeat the estoppel, then, for the above reasons, we would hold that they were.
28 Returning to the reasons of the FCCA in this case, on the question of the merits of the Anshun estoppel, the Court concluded as follows -
86. The Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground is a fundamental challenge to the IAA's authority to make the IAA Decision. In my opinion the Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground was so connected with the subject matter of the First Application as to have made it unreasonable in the context of the First Application for the claim not to have been made or the issue not to have been raised in the First Application: Tomlinson v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd [(2015) 256 CLR 507, 518 (French CJ, Kiefel, Keane and Nettle JJ)]. The Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground was so relevant to the subject matter of the First Application it was unreasonable not to rely upon it: Timbercorp Finance Pty Ltd (In Liq) v Collins & Anor [(2016) 259 CLR 212, 236 (French CJ, Kiefel, Keane and Nettle JJ)].
87. The Applicant is bound by the conduct of his case in the First Application Metwally v University of Wollongong (1985) 60 ALR 68, 71 (Gibbs CJ, Mason, Wilson, Brennan, Deane and Dawson JJ).
88. I find that it was unreasonable of the Applicant not to have included the Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground in the First Application. My reasons for doing are in accordance with the passage from the judgment of Flick J in Kong v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [(2011) 199 FCR 375] and set out in paragraph 53 above.
89. In this case the Applicant has agitated the First Application in the Federal Circuit Court and also before the Federal Court. In addition to the matters referred to by Flick J in Kong v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, my reasons also include the need to preserve the orderly administration of justice and the need to sustain public confidence in curial dispositions: Stuart v Sanderson [(2000) 100 FCR 150, 156].
90. The application of the Anshun principle is discretionary. The Court has a discretion if it determines that special circumstances exist to allow an issue to be raised, even where it is found that the point was unreasonably omitted from the earlier proceeding: Wong v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2004) 146 FCR 10, [38]; BC v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2002] FCAFC 221, [24].
91. I have considered whether special circumstances exist that would … permit the Applicant to raise the Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground in the Substantive Application, notwithstanding that I have found that it was unreasonable to have not done so in the First Application.
92. On the evidence the only reason that the Applicant did not pursue the Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground, was because the Applicant was not aware of the availability of the ground. I reject this as a special or exceptional circumstance on same basis of the reasoning as the Federal Court in Applicant A210/2002 v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCA 579 (paragraphs 60-61 above) and Daniel v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs (2004) 205 ALR 198, 205 (paragraphs 62-63 above).
93. I have considered whether the fact that the Applicant was previously self-represented was circumstance that the Court should take into account as a special or exceptional circumstance. I have taken into account the comments of Flick J in Kong v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2011) 199 FCR 375, 390 (paragraph 66 above) and Ferguson J (as she then was) in Sahin v National Australia Bank Ltd [2012] VSCA 317, [98] (Warren CJ and Neave JA agreeing) (paragraph 67 above). Regrettably the position of the Applicant in this case applies to many applicants who come before the courts in migration cases. I find that in this case, being-self represented would be an insufficient reason alone to successfully raise against the application of the Minister's claim of Anshun estoppel. The Applicant would inevitably be met with Anshun estoppel.
94. I have concluded therefore that there are no special circumstances or exceptional circumstances that would … permit the Applicant to raise the Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground in the Substantive Application. The Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground in the Substantive Application would be met with a successful Anshun estoppel.
95. In my opinion on an impressionistic consideration and without full argument, I find the Invalid Proclamation of Port Ground hopeless and bound to fail on the basis that it will inevitably be met with a successful claim for Anshun estoppel by the Minister. I therefore find the merits of the Substantive Application as having no reasonable prospect of success and bound to fail.