Conference presentation
Jurisdictional Error: What even is it?
AIAL National Administrative Law Conference: Perspectives In Administrative Law (The University Club of Western Australia, Perth, 31/07/2025–01/08/2025)
2025
Abstract
This paper examines the doctrine of jurisdictional error in Australian administrative law, focusing on its role in judicial review of executive decision-making. Jurisdictional error operates as a doctrinal mechanism for delineating the boundaries of lawful authority and determining the validity of administrative decisions. The paper explores three core dimensions of jurisdictional error: its function in establishing a ground of review, its necessity for the grant of judicial remedies, and its relevance to the interpretation and constitutional validity of privative clauses. Particular emphasis is placed on the High Court’s recent clarification of the materiality threshold in LPDT v Minister for Immigration [2024] HCA 12, which resolves longstanding uncertainty surrounding the meaning, proof, and consequences of material errors. The paper also considers inherently invalidating errors—such as legal unreasonableness, bias, and serious breaches of the hearing rule—and evaluates emerging judicial support for treating such errors as inherently material.
Details
- Title
- Jurisdictional Error: What even is it?
- Authors/Creators
- Sarah Withnall Howe (Author) - Murdoch University, School of Law and Criminology
- Conference
- AIAL National Administrative Law Conference: Perspectives In Administrative Law (The University Club of Western Australia, Perth, 31/07/2025–01/08/2025)
- Identifiers
- 991005812748707891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Research and Innovation Office; School of Law and Criminology
- Resource Type
- Conference presentation
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