Can two separate judicial review applications about related decisions be combined?

Yes, in appropriate circumstances. The Federal Court has case-management authority to consolidate, or otherwise hear together, separate judicial review applications that are closely related — for example, applications arising from a common underlying decision, from the same family's related files, or involving overlapping facts and legal questions. This is a procedural decision the Court makes, not something that happens automatically just because two applications are connected.

Consolidating related applications can improve efficiency by avoiding duplicated argument and evidence, and it also reduces the risk of inconsistent outcomes between cases that really turn on the same underlying facts or legal issue. Whether consolidation is appropriate depends on how closely related the applications actually are, and whether hearing them together would cause unfairness to either side, such as delay or confusion between distinct issues.

Anyone with more than one pending judicial review application connected to the same underlying situation should raise the question of consolidation with the Court early, since it is a case-management tool that needs to be requested and considered, not something that occurs by default.