Akok and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Akok and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute concerned the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's Global Humanitarian (Class XB) (Subclass 202) visa due to his failure to pass the character test, stemming from a history of violent offending, including family violence. The applicant sought revocation of this cancellation.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether there was another reason why the visa cancellation should be revoked, having regard to the applicant's circumstances and the relevant Ministerial Direction. This involved assessing the weight to be given to various factors, including the applicant's mental health condition, in the context of the mandatory cancellation provisions.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal applied Ministerial Direction No. 99, which guides decision-makers on the revocation of mandatory visa cancellations. The Tribunal considered the nature and seriousness of the applicant's offending, the risk of recidivism, and the impact of cancellation on the applicant and his family. Crucially, the Tribunal found that the applicant's mental health condition, when considered alongside other mitigating factors, constituted another reason for revocation. The Tribunal concluded that the mandatory cancellation decision was not justified in the circumstances.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision to refuse to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa and substituted a new decision to revoke the cancellation.