Akuthota (Migration)

This matter concerned the review of a decision by the Department of Home Affairs to cancel the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, held by the applicant, a citizen of India. The applicant had been granted the visa on 11 March 2022 to continue his studies in Australia. The cancellation was based on the applicant's alleged non-compliance with condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically that he was not enrolled in a full-time registered course.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of his visa, which mandates enrolment in a full-time registered course and maintenance of enrolment at the same or a higher Australian Qualifications Framework level. If a breach was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, taking into account the circumstances presented by the applicant.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not complied with condition 8202(2)(a) as he was not enrolled in a full-time registered course for approximately 17 months. While the applicant provided reasons for his non-compliance, including poor educational guidance, issues with the VET system, the impact of COVID-19, family health concerns, and marital problems of his sister, the Tribunal concluded that these circumstances did not outweigh the established breach. The applicant's initial enrolment in a Master of Engineering course was followed by a shift to commercial cookery and subsequent attempts to re-enrol in postgraduate or vocational courses, with inconsistent record-keeping by educational providers.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision to cancel the applicant's visa, finding that the non-compliance with the visa condition was sufficiently serious to warrant cancellation.