| NZYQ v Minister for Immigration | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | High Court of Australia |
| Full case name | NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs |
| Decided | 28 November 2023 |
| Citation(s) | [2023] HCA 37 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Gageler CJ, Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot, Beech-Jones JJ |
| Laws applied | |
This case overturned a previous ruling | |
| Al-Kateb v Godwin | |
NZYQ v Minister for Immigration was a 2023 decision of the High Court of Australia.
It is an important case in Australian constitutional law. Most notably, the newly constituted Gageler Court overturned the precedent of Al-Kateb v Godwin, a 2004 decision of the Gleeson Court which had held the indefinite detention of stateless persons to be lawful.[1]
The case resulted in the court effectively requiring the immediate release of 149 men from Australian immigration detention. Almost all of those released had criminal histories, the majority (116) being violent offenders, some being convicted murderers; they were said to be a danger to the community, creating political issues for the Albanese Government.[2][1] The government responded by legislating a regime imposing strict visa conditions on the group of people released, with mandatory minimum carceral sentences of one year for those breaching the conditions.[3]
