CHAO (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant against the cancellation of their Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The dispute arose from allegations that the applicant had provided incorrect information in a previous application for a Working Holiday (Extension) (class TZ subclass 417) visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) was required to determine whether the applicant had indeed failed to comply with relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and, if so, whether the cancellation of the applicant's current visa was justified.

The Tribunal was tasked with assessing whether the applicant had contravened section 101(b) of the Act, which mandates that visa applications must not contain incorrect answers. Specifically, the Tribunal considered evidence that the applicant had claimed to have undertaken specified work in regional Australia for a previous visa application, providing details of an employer and dates of employment. However, the Department received advice from the registered business under the provided ABN indicating that the applicant had never worked for that entity. The Tribunal also had to consider whether the notice issued by the Department under section 107 of the Act, detailing the alleged non-compliance, was valid and whether the applicant had been afforded a fair opportunity to respond.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that the notice issued under section 107 complied with statutory requirements and that the applicant had been given a fair opportunity to attend a hearing. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant had breached section 101(b) by providing incorrect information in their Working Holiday (Extension) visa application, as evidenced by the employer's denial of the applicant's employment. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that the applicant failed to respond to the Department's Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation. Having regard to these findings, the Tribunal concluded that the visa cancellation was warranted.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 500 (Student) visa.