Arielle advises government agencies on administrative law litigation, sound decision-making processes and statutory interpretation. She acts for major Commonwealth departments and agencies including the Department of Home Affairs and Services Australia. Arielle has had carriage of extensive merits and judicial review matters involving challenges to decisions made by Commonwealth officers and administrative tribunals.
She provides clients with specialist, value-for-money, volume litigation services and advice that delivers practical and legally sound solutions. Arielle regularly appears as solicitor-advocate in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and Federal Court of Australia. She regularly acts in and instructs Counsel and Senior Counsel in strategic and complex matters.
Experience
- Arielle has had carriage of and appeared as solicitor-advocate in hundreds of judicial and merits review proceedings for the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Federal Circuit and Family Court, Federal Court and High Court of Australia, including:
- Successfully arguing that a decision not to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant’s visa should be affirmed because there was not “another reason” to revoke the original decision under s 501CA(4) of the Migration Act 1958: for example, JFPT and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] AATA 1080; Holloway and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] AATA 833; Dennis and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] AATA 356.
- Getachew and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2023] AATA 4478 in which the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant was of “good character” as reqired for the grant of citizenship by conferral under s 21(2)(h) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.
- Persuading the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that an application for review of a decision to refuse an application citizenship by conferral because an applicant did not satisfy the general residence requirements under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, had no reasonable prospects of success: Gan and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Sercives and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 4236. An application for judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision and subsequent appeal were both dismissed by the Federal Court: Gan v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCA 375; Gan v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCA 91.
- Coordinating a cohort of matters affected by the High Court’s judgment in Davis v Minister for Immigration, Citizneship, Migrant Servies and Multicultural Affairs [2023] HCA 10, which held that decisions made by delegates of the Minister in purported complince with the Minister’s guidelines on ministerial powers (s 351, s 417 and s 501) exceeded the executive power of the Commonwealth.
- CPK19 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCA 820 in which the Court rejected the appellant’s argument that statements made by the Tribunal regarding a pastor’s practice in relation to baptisms gave rise to apprehended bias.
- DQF19 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 845 in which the Court accepted the Minister’s submissions that a decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority was not affected by apprehended bias by reason of its adverse credibility findings and that it was not unreasonable for the Authority not to exercise the discretion under s 473DC(3) of the Migration Act 1958 to request new information.
- EHR18 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2020] FCCA 3271, in which the Court dismissed an application to set aside a Notice of discontinuance, which argued that the applicant’s former solicitor had filed the Notice without instructions.
- AMI17 v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2019] FCCA 2017, in which the Court accepted that the Tribunal’s failure to disclose a non-disclosure certificate invalidly issued under s 438 of the Migration Act 1958 was immaterial.
- Arielle has experience in statutory interpretation and preparing legal opinions for the Department of Home Affairs and Services Australia, advising on particular provisions in the Migration Act 1958, Migration Regulations 1994, Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and various legislative instruments and policies.
- Arielle has extensive experience acting for the Child Support Registrar including in the following types of matters:
- Commencing enforcement proceedings on behalf of the Child Support Registrar in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to recover unpaid child support debts: for example, Child Support Registrar & Abani (No. 2) [2020] FCCA 3381.
- Successfully defending an application for leave to appeal brought before a Full Court of the Famil Court against orders requiring the applicant to make payment to the Child Support Registrar: Albani & Child Support Registrar [2021] FedCFamC1A 52.
- Acting for the Child Support Registrar in various applications brought under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and regularly appearing as amicus curae to provide assistance to the Court where child support orders are sought.
- Representing the Child Support Registrar in appeals brought in the Federal Circuit and Family Court and Federal Court of Australia under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 from decisions made by the Social Services and Child Support division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal: for example, Greene v Jordan [2022] FedCFamC2G 812; Booth v Blackmore & Anor [2019] FCCA 2105. These decisions relate to child support assessments made under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.
- Arielle has appeared on behalf of the Secretary, Department of Social Services in merits review challenges to social security decisions including in relation to disability support pension, family tax benefit, carer payment and youth allowance: for example, Chapman and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social Services second review) [2019] AATA 2714.
- Arielle has represented the NSW Police Commissioner, NSW Police Force in challenges to firearms licence decisions in the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
- Arielle has undertaken secondments with the Department of Home Affairs and Services Australia.
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