Relevant principles
16 The claims made in support of the appeal are not based upon an alleged failure by the Tribunal to afford procedural fairness. Rather, they are claims of jurisdictional error on the basis that the Tribunal did not discharge its statutory task.
17 Recently, in Hossain v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2018] HCA 34 at [24], Kiefel CJ, Gageler and Keane JJ explained jurisdictional error in a statutory decision-making process as referring to 'a failure to comply with one or more statutory preconditions or conditions to an extent which results in a decision which has been made in fact lacking the characteristics necessary for it to be given force and effect by the statute pursuant to which the decision-maker purported to make it'. Further, statutes ordinarily are to be interpreted as incorporating a threshold of materiality in the event of non-compliance before there will be a failure to meet the requirements of the statute in a manner that will be jurisdictional: at [29]. The threshold of materiality would not ordinarily be met in the event of a failure to comply with a condition if compliance 'could have made no difference to the decision that was made in the circumstances in which the decision was made': at [30]. Otherwise, the merits of administrative action, to the extent that they can be distinguished from legality, are solely a matter for the repository of the relevant power: Attorney-General (NSW) v Quin [1990] HCA 21; (1990) 170 CLR 1 at 35-36.
18 In considering the review of a refusal of an application for a protection visa, the Tribunal's task 'could not be undertaken without a consciousness and consideration of the submissions, evidence and material advanced by the visa applicant' as to the circumstances on the ground in the country to which the applicant may be returned: Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v MZYTS [2013] FCAFC 114; (2013) 230 FCR 431 at [38].
19 The Tribunal must deal with claims that are expressly articulated and those which clearly arise from the materials before the Tribunal. This obligation plainly includes a claim raised by the evidence and contentions before the Tribunal which if resolved in one way would or could be dispositive of the review: NABE v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (No 2) [2004] FCAFC 263; (2004) 144 FCR 1 at [60]-[63].
20 Whether a failure to consider a matter raised in the context of an application for a protection visa goes to jurisdiction 'depends upon the circumstances of the case and the nature of the material; including the cogency of the material and its place in the assessment of the applicant's claims': Viane v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2018] FCAFC 116 at [28] (Rangiah J, Reeves J agreeing).
21 As to those instances where a claim is made that the Tribunal should have considered a claim that arose on the materials even though it was not articulated as a claim by the applicant, the following passage in NAVK v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCA 1695 at [15] (Allsop J) was approved by the Full Court in Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZRMA [2013] FCAFC 161; (2013) 219 FCR 287 at [70]:
Whatever adverb or adverbial phrase is used to describe the apparentness of the unarticulated claim, it must, it seems to me, either in fact be appreciated by the Tribunal or, if it is not, arise sufficiently from the material as to require a reasonably competent Tribunal in the circumstances to appreciate its existence. A practical and common sense approach to everyday decision-making requires the unarticulated claim to arise tolerably clearly from the material itself, since the statutory task of the Tribunal is to assess the claims by reference to all the material, not to undertake an independent analytical exercise of the material for the discovery of potential claims which might be made, but which have not been, and then subjecting them to further analysis to assess their legitimacy.
22 These general principles have been considered in cases where review has been sought of Tribunal decisions in which an issue has arisen as to whether it would be reasonable for the applicant to relocate to an area of a country where there would not be a real risk of harm.
23 However, before going to those cases, it is necessary to consider the proper approach when considering whether it is reasonable for a person to relocate within a country of citizenship for the purpose of deciding a refugee claim to protection.
24 In SZATV v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2007] HCA 40; (2007) 233 CLR 18 at [23]-[24], Gummow, Hayne and Crennan JJ supported a formulation by the Minister to the effect that the 'relocation principle' (at that time to be distilled from the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees rather than the express language now to be found in s 36(2B)) required a consideration as to whether it was reasonable in the sense of practicable for the visa applicant to relocate to a region where objectively there was no appreciable risk of harm. However, their Honours then stated that what is reasonable in the sense of practicable must depend upon the particular circumstances of the applicant and the impact upon that person of relocation of their place of residence within the country of nationality.
25 In Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v SZSCA [2014] HCA 45; (2014) 254 CLR 317 French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel and Keane JJ stated at [25]:
The factum upon which the principle of relocation operates is that there is an area in the visa applicant's country of nationality where he or she may be safe from harm. In this matter it was found by the Tribunal that Kabul was such a place. By analogy with the internal relocation principle, given the existence of a place within his country of nationality where the respondent would have no well-founded fear of persecution, it could not be concluded that he is outside Afghanistan and unable to return to that country owing to a well-founded fear of persecution if it could reasonably be expected that he remain in Kabul and not travel outside it. As in SZATV, it is the question of what may reasonably be expected of the respondent which must be addressed.
26 Section 36(2B) was introduced by the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Act 2011 (Cth) and took effect from 24 March 2012. As we have noted, it included a provision to the effect that there is taken not to be a real risk of significant harm in a country for an applicant if, amongst other alternatives, it would be reasonable for the applicant to relocate to an area of the country where there would not be a real risk that the applicant will suffer significant harm as statutorily defined. (For completeness, we note that different issues may arise concerning relocation when considering the refugee criterion as it arises under s 5J of the Act and amendments effected by the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Act 2014 (Cth) but these issues do not arise for consideration in this case.)
27 So, where relocation is being considered in the context of a claim to a protection visa based upon complementary protection as provided for in s 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act, there are two aspects that arise. Firstly, whether there is an area within the receiving country where the visa applicant will not suffer significant harm. Secondly, whether it would be reasonable for the visa applicant to relocate to that area.
28 As to the first aspect, as already noted at [6] above, there will be a real risk of significant harm (as defined) if there is a real risk that the visa applicant will die or will suffer cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that is intentionally inflicted.
29 As to the second aspect, there may be many factors personal to the particular visa applicant which mean that it would be unreasonable for an applicant to relocate to an area even though there is the absence of a real risk of significant harm as defined. In that context, significant harm as defined is confined to quite serious consequences that may befall the visa applicant. So, the fact that it may be concluded that there is not a real risk of significant harm as defined does not mean that the area is safe or that there may not otherwise be quite serious adverse outcomes if the visa applicant was to relocate to that area. Therefore, it is necessary in considering a claim to a protection visa based upon the complementary protection criteria, for the repository of the power determining the application to maintain a clear distinction between the two aspects to which s 36(2)(aa) and the related provisions in (2A) and (2B) direct attention. Further, the risk of harm that does not amount to significant harm as defined may be advanced as part of why it is not reasonable for a particular visa applicant to relocate to a particular area.
30 There have been a number of cases in which consideration has been given to the circumstances in which the failure to maintain the required distinction between the two aspects of a claim based upon the complementary protection criteria may amount to jurisdictional error.
31 In MZACX v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCA 1212, Kenny J considered a claim that there had been jurisdictional error in relation to the approach by the Tribunal when considering the question of relocation in a case where s 36(2B) applied. In MZACX it was claimed that the Tribunal 'had wrongly conflated the question whether there was an appreciable risk of the feared persecution in the putative safe havens [being the places where the visa applicant might relocate] with the question whether relocation to those places was reasonable, in the sense of practicable, given his particular circumstances': at [27]. Reliance was placed upon the decisions in MZYQU v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2012] FCA 1032; (2012) 206 FCR 191 and MZZJY v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2014] FCA 1394 where claims of that kind had been upheld.
32 Before the Tribunal in MZACX, the visa applicant had identified a number of matters that were said to make it unreasonable for him to relocate to the putative safe havens that had been identified: at [40]-[42]. Ultimately, on appeal, Kenny J found that there had been a failure to consider separately whether relocation was reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the appellant's case as advanced and the failure to address that question resulted in jurisdictional error: at [49].
33 In MZACX and in the cases relied upon before Kenny J in that case, jurisdictional error was found because there was a failure to undertake the statutory task which required a consideration of whether it was reasonable to relocate and to do so by reference to the material presented to support the claim. If it had been the case that the Tribunal had undertaken that task but reached conclusions that might be criticised in the sense that they may be conclusions with which a court might disagree, even disagree strongly, that would not provide a basis for jurisdictional review on the basis advanced in the present appeal. The assessment of the merits is entrusted only to the Minister and the Tribunal on review.