BYMD and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of BYMD and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute concerned the non-revocation of a mandatory cancellation of the Applicant's Class BA Subclass 200 Refugee Visa, following the Applicant failing to pass the character test due to serious criminal offending, including sexual offences and family violence.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether there was "another reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation decision, as contemplated by the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This involved considering Ministerial Direction No. 90, which outlines the framework for assessing such matters, including the weight to be given to primary and other considerations, and Australia's international non-refoulement obligations.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal applied the principles set out in Ministerial Direction No. 90, particularly concerning the protection of the Australian community. The Tribunal found that the Applicant's history of offending, including a violent assault on a de facto partner in 2002, theft and attempted indictable offence in 2003, theft in 2003, threatening a de facto partner with a knife in 2017, and a violent assault on that partner in 2019, was viewed very seriously by the Australian Government and community. The Tribunal noted that acts of family violence and violent and sexual crimes are considered very serious, regardless of the sentence imposed. The Applicant's tendency to deny the more serious aspects of his offending undermined his credibility. The Tribunal concluded that the expectations of the Australian community and its abhorrence of family violence provided powerful reasons against revoking the visa cancellation.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that there was no other reason to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the Applicant's visa.