A ‘judicial review’ is something that lawyers will often refer to as a ‘complex matter’. It is something that lets you ask a court to review the lawfulness of a decision.
So, if you have received a decision about your migration application, and you think it is not a lawful one, you can have it reviewed.
The point to note here is ‘lawfulness’. If you are wanting to find out whether the decision made was the right one, that is not a judicial review. Those situations are called ‘merits reviews’.
Why does judicial review exist for immigration?
The laws that govern immigration in Australia are complicated. The policy requirements and legislation are both very strict.
It is so complicated, in fact, that sometimes it might arise that a decision that is not lawful is made. This might mean that there’s been a jurisdictional error; that there has been an error of law; or that a relevant consideration was not taken into account.
There are time limits
If you want to seek a judicial review of a decision, you must obey the time limits. For migration matters, that timeframe is a mere 35 days.
If you can’t stick to that time limit, then you will have a very hard time trying to persuade a court to give you an extension.
What is the first thing I need to do?
By far the most important thing to do, if you feel that a judicial review is needed, is to talk to an immigration lawyer. It is one area in which migration agents cannot act on your behalf.
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