The Federal Court held that the AAT committed jurisdictional error by failing to consider whether the applicant's ex-partner was a 'member of his family' for the purposes of the family violence provisions in Direction 90. Where the familial relationship is contestable (as with ex-partners who no longer live together), the Tribunal must expressly consider and make findings on this issue, even if not raised by the parties. The Court found that the Tribunal's assumption that an ex-partner was a family member, without analysis of the relationship's nature and history, constituted a failure to comply with the mandatory direction.
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