Alfouzan (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs to cancel the applicant's Subclass 489 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa. The cancellation was based on the ground that the applicant's presence in Australia was or might be a risk to the health or safety of an individual, specifically his wife and son.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the ground for cancellation under section 116(1)(e) of the Migration Act 1958 was made out. This required the Tribunal to consider if the applicant's presence in Australia posed a risk to the health or safety of any individual, based on allegations of domestic violence and contravention of an interim intervention order. The Tribunal also had to consider all relevant circumstances, including government policy, in determining whether to cancel the visa.

The delegate's decision relied on advice from South Australia Police regarding an interim domestic violence order and subsequent charges for contravention. The alleged contravention involved the applicant throwing a toy truck in anger near his sleeping son during an argument with his wife about his immigration status. However, the applicant provided a statutory declaration stating that the disagreement was not aggressive, that his wife later withdrew her complaint, and that the interim order was varied to allow them to live together. The Tribunal considered these circumstances, including the withdrawal of contravention charges and the wife's stated desire not to proceed with the order, and concluded that the visa should not be cancelled.

The Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision to cancel the applicant's visa and substituted a decision not to cancel the visa.