Carlton v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

This was a humanitarian appeal by the appellants, a 29- and 25-years-old married couple from Tuvalu, against their deportation liability.

Tribunal Member Avia, on August 20, 2025, rejected the appeal, although it granted the couple a six-month work visa to enable them to get their affairs in order. The Tribunal considered the current conditions in Tuvalu, most of which relate to climate change and its effects, and noted that Tuvalu has a high climate change vulnerability. However, the Tribunal found that there were not exceptional humanitarian circumstances. It explained that while “the Tribunal acknowledges that life has become difficult in Tuvalu and the current conditions there, including the impacts of climate change, could be described, in general terms, as raising concerns that are humanitarian in nature,” broad humanitarian concerns are not enough under the statutory test, which requires exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature. The Tribunal did not find the circumstances to be “well outside the normal run of circumstances.”