Summary
A Federal Court judge ruled that an immigration officer’s rejection of HIV-positive South African woman Grace Mabena’s permanent residency application was unreasonable, as it overlooked her abusive husband’s threats to withdraw sponsorship. Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak emphasized that the officer did not adequately consider Mabena’s status as a survivor of family violence and the hardships she would face if returned to South Africa. After enduring severe abuse, Mabena left her husband in May 2023 and sought to convert her application based on humanitarian grounds, leading to this court review.
