Bosi v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs

Bosi v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs involved an appeal against the decision of the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) and Federal Magistrates Court to cancel the appellant's visa under section 116(3) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Tribunal had affirmed the Delegate's decision that the appellant had not complied with condition 8202 of the visa, which required the appellant to achieve a satisfactory academic result. The primary issue before the court was whether the Tribunal had the authority to consider and weigh the evidence it obtained from the education provider regarding the appellant's academic progress, as opposed to simply verifying the existence of a certification of satisfactory academic results.

The court examined the legal principles established in previous cases such as Tian and Gerhard, which emphasised that the Minister or the Tribunal cannot question or go behind a certification by the education provider that the visa holder has achieved a satisfactory academic result. The court found that while the Tribunal was not obliged to obtain evidence, it could do so, and it must assess the evidence's relevance and probative value in the normal way. In this case, the Delegate's question to the education provider about the appellant's academic progress, rather than his academic result, did not meet the standard required by condition 8202. The court held that the Tribunal had not properly considered the evidence in light of the legal principles established and that it had failed to appreciate the necessity of the education provider's certification as a compliance mechanism.

Consequently, the court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders of the Federal Magistrates Court, and remitted the matter back to the MRT for further consideration. The court also ordered that the respondent pay the appellant's costs.