Ahmed (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding the cancellation of the applicant's Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa. The applicant's visa was cancelled by the Department of Home Affairs on the grounds that he had ceased employment with his nominating business for more than 90 consecutive days and had not secured a new nomination within that period, thereby breaching a condition of his visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the ground for cancellation under section 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) was established, and if so, whether the discretion to cancel the visa should be exercised. The applicant had ceased employment on 21 March 2017 and, despite being granted an extension to respond to the notice of intention to cancel, had not provided evidence of securing a new nomination or employment.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed breached condition 8107(3)(b) of his visa by exceeding the 90-day period without employment with his nominating sponsor. While acknowledging the applicant's cooperation with the Department, the Tribunal gave significant weight to the fact that the applicant remained without an approved nomination and had not worked for an approved sponsor since March 2017. The Tribunal emphasised that it was the applicant's responsibility to be aware of and comply with his visa conditions, including the availability of online resources like VEVO.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 457 visa, concluding that the circumstances as a whole weighed in favour of cancellation.