Can I submit new evidence at Federal Court that was not part of my original application?

Generally, no. Judicial review at the Federal Court is normally limited to the evidentiary record that was actually before the original decision-maker when the decision was made. The Court's role is to review whether that decision was legally and procedurally sound based on what was in front of the decision-maker at the time, not to reconsider the application with additional material the original officer never saw.

There are narrow exceptions to this general rule, most notably evidence that goes to a breach of procedural fairness or a jurisdictional issue, since such evidence may relate to how the process was conducted rather than to the merits of the underlying application, and may not have been capable of being placed before the original decision-maker in the first place.

This is a significant, and frequently misunderstood, difference from an appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division, which generally does allow new evidence at a fresh hearing. Anyone hoping to introduce important new material after a refusal should have their options assessed carefully, since the right vehicle for doing so may be a different kind of application entirely, not judicial review.