Faced with an appeal involving a relationship between a 90-year old man and his Indonesian de facto partner, Ms Angkawijaya aged almost 60, the Full Federal Court recently considered whether there must be love and affection for there to be a genuine spousal or de facto relationship.

The couple’s circumstances and explanations did not fit well into what the delegate and subsequently, the Tribunal expected to see in a relationship. When the member asked Ms Angkawijaya about the reason for her partner visa application, she said that, “she loved [Mr Limberiou] and she loved people generally” and that when she was asked if she loved him more than she loved people generally she said that she “loves all” and “loves everybody”.

Given her ambivalence about her feelings towards Mr Limberiou, and the other concerns, the Tribunal concluded that it was not satisfied that the couple had a mutual commitment to a shared life together. The Tribunal held that a de facto relationship which in the circumstances of this case did not include love and affection was not and could not be a de facto relationship within s 5CB(2) of the Act

However, the Full Federal Court found that the Tribunal erred and held that, “A couple may have a commitment to each other to a shared life together as partners in the absence of what one might call emotional or romantic love.”

In their joint judgement, Kenny and Griffiths JJ stated:

51. All the matters and considerations which are set out in reg 1.09A(3) may properly be described as relevant considerations which the decisionmaker is bound to take into account because the legislation so requires.

When sending applications, submissions and evidence to the AAT by post, you should allow for longer mail delivery times as Australia Post regular mail delivery may take up to six days, warns the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Despite increasing the cost of sending a letter by regular mail from 70 cents to $1 earlier this month, the unprofitable national postal services provider, Auspost says regular mail could take up to six business days to get delivered. Pay $1.50 and your letters get priority – with delivery promised within 4 business days. Only Auspost’s express post service ‘guarantees next day delivery’.

Don’t get caught out on this as there are strict timelines for applying for an AAT review. Review applicants must lodge their application for review within the time limit referred to in the letter from the Department notifying them of the decision. If you do not apply within the time limit AAT will not be able to consider the application for review as it does not have any power to extend the time limit.

To avoid delays, the AAT recommends that, where available, you consider lodging your application or documents using AAT's online lodgement facilities.

The AAT also accepts applications, submissions and evidence by email, fax or in person at one of AAT's offices.

A Thai woman under the age of 30 entering Australia is likely to be pulled aside and questioned at length at immigration about the purpose of her visit. Africans in the Flemington and North Melbourne area are 2.5 times more likely to be stopped by police than other groups despite having a lower crime rate.

Young Chinese parents have complained to the Human Rights Commissioner that their online orders for baby formula were cancelled because of their names and that some shops had signs in English which state a limit of 4 tins, but the signs written in Mandarin state the limit is 2. Supermarket giant, Woolworths which is at the centre of the baby formula saga denied any racial discrimination, and put it down to ‘ticketing error’.

Recently, New South Wales Greens Member of Parliament Mehreen Faruqi and her husband were entering the US through Los Angeles Airport. Unlike other passengers on the flight, Faruqi, a Pakistani-born Australian, and her husband were questioned for almost an hour about their previous travel and how they obtained their Australian passports. While US authorities allege that Ms Faruqi was selected for additional processing on the basis of random selection, the facts at hand point to something different, notes a recent report in the Huffingtonpost.

Reflecting on the first day he arrived in Australia, Iranian man Dr Sina Jamali says that becoming an Australian citizen was "a dream come true"

Speaking to the ABC, after receiving his citizenship certificate, the engineering researcher from the University of Wollongong said the country had been incredibly welcoming since he arrived in 2011.

"Back on the first day when I arrived at Sydney airport there was a cab driver taking us from the airport, and at the time I thought I should try and pretend I had some sort of accent," he said.

To help new arrivals to Australia, particularly refugees settle in, a new smartphone app was launched this month to provide information and tools which aim to help them navigate their new lives. The New Roots app provides tips for everything from staying fit to eating well and finding a job, according to a report by the UNHCR.

The New Roots app, which has been given the thumbs up The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was developed by Settlement Services International (SSI) and Beyond Blue in Australia with funding from the Movember foundation.

Among other features of the app are tips for emotional well-being and guides to managing finances and contacting emergency services in Australia, according to the UNHCR report.