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

The case of *Burrows and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)* concerned the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa. The applicant, who had lived in Australia since the age of nine and had a substantial criminal record including offences involving family violence, sought to have this cancellation revoked. The matter came before Deputy President Britten-Jones.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there was "another reason" to revoke the mandatory visa cancellation decision, as contemplated by section 501CA(4)(b)(ii) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required an assessment of the countervailing considerations against the mandatory cancellation, particularly in light of Direction 99, which guides the Minister's decision-making process in such matters. The applicant could not rely on passing the character test under section 501CA(4)(b)(i) due to his substantial criminal record.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the primary considerations of protecting the Australian community and upholding community expectations weighed against revocation, these were outweighed by other significant factors. These included the applicant's strong ties to Australia, having lived there for the majority of his life since childhood, and the best interests of his minor children, who were Australian citizens and relied on his care. The Tribunal found that these countervailing considerations constituted "another reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the mandatory visa cancellation decision and substituted it with a decision to revoke the cancellation.