This information describes the minister’s public interest powers in sections 351, 417 and 501J of the Migration Act 1958 and tells you about the types of cases that might be referred to the Minister and the types of cases that will not be referred to the Minister.

The Minister has powers under the Migration Act 1958 to replace a decision of a merits review tribunal on a person’s case with a decision that is more favourable to that person if the Minister thinks it is in the public interest to do so.

You should not assume that your request for ministerial intervention will be referred to the Minister. The Minister does not have to look at your case and does not have to intervene. Most requests are finalised by the Department in accordance with the Minister’s guidelines. Only a small number of requests are referred to the Minister.

Minister’s guidelines
The Minister’s guidelines describe the types of cases that might be referred for the Minister’s consideration. Requests are assessed against these guidelines. Requests that do not meet the guidelines will be finalised by the Australian authorities. Most requests do not meet the guidelines and are not referred to the Minister.

The Minister has described the types of unique or exceptional circumstances in which a case might be referred for the Minister’s consideration.

The Minister’s guidelines indicate that certain cases that do not meet the guidelines for referral are inappropriate to consider. The Minister has described the circumstances of these cases in the guidelines. The Minister expects us to finalise such requests without further processing.

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