application for review of decision of the Assistant Minister under s 501BA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to set aside earlier decision of the then-Administrative Appeals Tribunal
whether Assistant Minister’s assessment of the Applicant’s risk of reoffending was legally unreasonable or illogical
ground 2 dismissed
Quick Take
1A decision-maker assessing risk of reoffending under s 501BA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) is entitled to reach conclusions different from those expressed in expert psychological evidence, provided the conclusion has a probative basis and is not so lacking in rational foundation that no logical decision-maker could reach it.
2When assessing future risk of relapse or reoffending, a decision-maker may permissibly engage in reasonable conjecture based on known facts — including past motivating factors, historical patterns of behaviour, and non-compliance with previously stated rehabilitation intentions — and the weight given to competing considerations is not amenable to judicial review.
3The threshold for establishing legal unreasonableness on the basis of illogicality or irrationality remains very high: the question is whether the decision is one that no rational or logical decision-maker could reach, and a court should be slow to conclude that threshold is met.
