Consideration
56 The sole ground of appeal asserts that the primary judge erred in, "failing to find that there was a constructive failure to exercise jurisdiction by the [Tribunal]". The appellant contends that the Tribunal's error was its failure to take into account, under paragraph 9.2(1)(a) of Direction 90, the appellant's health condition of drug addiction.
57 Paragraph 9.2(1)(a) requires, relevantly, that decision-makers must consider the extent of any impediments that the non-citizen may face if removed from Australia to their home country, in establishing themselves and maintaining basic living standards, taking into account the non-citizen's health.
58 The Tribunal's reasons for its decision followed the structure of Direction 90. When applying paragraph 9.2(1)(a), the Tribunal found that the appellant had no physical or mental health issues which would present an impediment to his removal. In making that finding, the Tribunal did not expressly mention drug addiction.
59 Earlier in its reasons, when considering risk to the Australian community under paragraph 8.1.2 of Direction 90, the Tribunal had found that the appellant had been addicted to drugs when he committed the relevant offence. The Tribunal found that he had been drug-free while in custody and had not undertaken any treatment programmes as he regarded himself as having recovered from drug addiction. The Tribunal concluded that there was a risk of the appellant relapsing into drug addiction but, contrary to the appellant's submission, made no finding that he had any existing drug addiction.
60 The appellant did not make any representation or claim that he had a drug addiction which might provide an impediment to establishing himself and maintaining basic living standards if he were removed to Lebanon. To the contrary, in his representations to the Minister, he stated:
I have now completely stopped taking drugs. I do not think I would be a risk to the community as I no longer take drugs. I have overcome this habit.
61 However, the appellant submits that a claim that he had a health condition of drug addiction clearly emerged from the Tribunal's findings or from the material before it, and that the Tribunal was obliged, but failed, to take that condition into account.
62 The Minister's submissions in response are multi-faceted, but it is convenient to begin with his submission that no obligation can arise under s 501CA(4) for a decision-maker to consider a claim which clearly arises on the materials but which is not clearly articulated. In Jones, Derrington J at [58]-[59] considered that the principle developed in protection visa cases that a decision-maker may be required to consider claims which, although not clearly articulated, clearly emerge from the materials, does not have any application under s 501CA(4). His Honour considered there to be a substantial difference between, on one hand, a decision-maker being required to consider a claim in the protection visa context which of itself could be dispositive of the decision, and, on the other hand, a factor or issue in the context of s 501CA(4) which is merely one matter which might be weighed in the exercise of a discretion.
63 In Dranichnikov v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2003] HCA 26; (2003) 197 ALR 389 (Dranichnikov), Gummow and Callinan JJ at [24]-[25] (Hayne J agreeing at [95]), held that that a decision-maker's failure to respond to a, "substantial, clearly articulated argument relying on established facts", can amount to a failure to afford procedural fairness or a constructive failure to exercise jurisdiction. In NABE v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (No 2) [2004] FCAFC 263; (2004) 144 FCR 1 (NABE), the Full Court (Black CJ, French and Selway JJ) held at [61] that:
…[T]he Tribunal is not required to consider a case that is not expressly made or does not arise clearly on the materials before it. The Tribunal's obligation is not limited to procedural fairness in responding to expressly articulated claims but, as is apparent from Dranichnikov, extends to reviewing the delegate's decision on the basis of all the materials before it.
64 Dranichnikov and NABE were concerned with administrative review of decisions to refuse protection visas, not decisions under s 501(CA)(4) of the Act. However, in Plaintiff M1/2021 v Minister for Home Affairs [2022] HCA 17; (2022) 400 ALR 417 (Plaintiff M1), the plurality of the High Court (Kiefel CJ, Keane, Gordon and Steward JJ) held at [25] that a decision-maker acting under s 501CA(4) of the Act, "is not required to consider claims that are not clearly articulated or which do not clearly arise on the materials before them". In this passage, the plurality echoed the first part of the passage quoted above from NABE. The plurality went on to confirm at [27] that if the decision-maker ignores, overlooks or misunderstands relevant facts or materials, there may be jurisdictional error.
65 In CKT20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCAFC 124; (2022) 294 FCR 318, the Full Court (Katzmann, Charlesworth and Burley JJ) at [91] regarded the plurality in Plaintiff M1 as having endorsed the approach taken in Dranichnikov and NABE. The endorsement of that approach in Plaintiff M1 is unsurprising. The "representations" given in response to an invitation under s 501CA(3)(b) of the Act will commonly consist of submissions arguing the former visa holder's case and various documents supporting revocation of the cancellation decision. It is not difficult to envisage a myriad of circumstances where the enclosed documents clearly raise a substantial claim that is not clearly made in the submissions: a letter might express a child's distress at the prospect of their parent being removed from Australia; or a medical report might diagnose a serious medical condition. An obligation can arise under s 501CA(4) of the Act for the decision-maker to consider a claim which, although not clearly articulated, clearly arises on the materials. We reject the Minister's submission that no such obligation is capable of arising.
66 It may be observed that in Plaintiff M1 at [25], the plurality excluded any requirement to consider claims that are not clearly articulated or which do not clearly arise on the materials. The plurality also held at [22] that:
The statutory scheme for determining whether the decision-maker is satisfied that there is "another reason" for revoking a cancellation decision commences with a former visa holder making representations. In determining whether they are satisfied that there is "another reason" for revoking a cancellation decision, the decision-maker undertakes the assessment by reference to the case made by the former visa holder by their representations.
67 The plurality cited Applicant S270/2019 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2020] HCA 32; (2020) 383 ALR 194 at [36], where it was held:
It follows in this matter that, although the s 501CA(4) discretion is wide, it must be exercised by the Minister considering the claims and material put forward by the applicant. If no non-refoulement claim is made - as in this case - non-refoulement does not need to be considered in the abstract.
68 These passages demonstrate that a decision-maker under s 501CA(4) of the Act can only come under an obligation to consider a matter if it is clearly articulated, or, if not clearly articulated, clearly arises on the representations. The representations must be regarded as extending at least to any material provided in response to the invitation given under s 501CA(3)(b) of the Act to provide representations. Where a review is conducted by the Tribunal, the obligation may extend to considering additional submissions and other material placed before the Tribunal: see Price v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] FCA 335 at [49]-[51] (Colvin J); Brownlie v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] FCA 436 at [53] (Feutrill J).
69 In the present case, the appellant makes no submission that he made a clearly articulated claim that he had a health condition of drug addiction which would create impediments in establishing himself and maintaining basic living standards if he were removed to Lebanon. However, he submits that such a health issue clearly emerged from the Tribunal's findings or from the material before the Tribunal.
70 The Minister submits that the Tribunal was not obliged to take in to account a matter that only arose from the Tribunal's findings. The Minister relies upon Jones v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCAFC 137, where Logan J (Charlesworth and Thomas JJ agreeing) at [48] approved the following passage from the reasons of the primary judge (Derrington J):
In circumstances where the Minister has an unfettered discretion to take into account whatever matters he considers relevant to the exercise of the discretion, there is no foundation for the submission that he erred by failing to take into account a matter which was not advanced to him and which, if it arose, did so only by reason of the findings which he had made.
71 That must be so because a decision-maker under s 501CA(4) of the Act is not obliged to consider a matter that was not put forward or advanced by the former visa holder as part of their case for why the cancellation decision should be revoked. It may be noted that, in contrast, in a review of a decision to refuse a protection visa application, an "unarticulated claim" might "clearly emerge" before a decision-maker having regard to the decision-maker's own findings: see AYY17 at [26].
72 A decision-maker is required, under s 499(2A) of the Act, to comply with the directions contained in Direction 90. Under paragraph 6, "a decision-maker must take into account the considerations identified in sections 8 and 9, where relevant to the decision". Whether such considerations are "relevant" in a particular case is a matter of opinion (subject to the reasonableness of the opinion) for the decision-maker: see Manebona v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2023] FCAFC 116 at [95].
73 Paragraph 9.2(1)(a) requires that decision-makers (including the Tribunal) under s 501CA of the Act, "must consider the extent of any impediments that the non-citizen may face if removed from Australia to their home country, in establishing themselves and maintaining basic living standards…taking into account…the non-citizen's…health".
74 However, an obligation for a decision-maker to consider a particular health condition can only arise under paragraph 9.2(1)(a) of Direction 90 where that condition is put forward by the former visa holder as part of their case for revocation of a cancellation decision. Such a claim must either have been clearly advanced as a reason or part of a reason for revocation or must clearly arise from the material before the decision-maker.
75 In a particular case, the fact that a decision-maker made a finding upon a particular matter might be relevant to the Court's determination of whether the matter clearly arose on the material as a reason advanced for revocation of the cancellation decision. That is not so in the present case. The appellant did not raise any drug addiction as a health issue which might cause an impediment in establishing himself and maintaining basic living standards if removed to Lebanon. To the contrary, the appellant expressly claimed that he had completely stopped taking drugs and had overcome his drug habit. It cannot be accepted that any claim of drug addiction, or risk of relapse into drug addiction, as a reason for revocation of the cancellation decision clearly arose on the material. Accordingly, the Tribunal came under no obligation to consider any such health issue under paragraph 9.2(1)(a) of Direction 90.
76 In any event, we would not infer that the Tribunal, having found that there was a possibility of the appellant relapsing into drug addiction when considering risk to the community, overlooked that matter when considering paragraph 9.2(1)(a). The Tribunal expressly found that the appellant, "has no physical or mental health issues which would present an impediment to his removal". There is no basis for supposing that the Tribunal's finding did not encompass the possibility it had expressly accepted of relapse into drug addiction.
77 The appellant has not established that the judgment of the primary judge is affected by appealable error. The appeal must be dismissed with costs.
I certify that the preceding seventy-seven (77) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justices Logan, Rangiah and Markovic.