Chen (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) considered whether to affirm the decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa. The cancellation was based on the applicant providing a bogus document, specifically an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test report, which was obtained using an imposter. The applicant had relied on this document to satisfy English language proficiency requirements for both his initial visa application and a subsequent visa application.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the grounds for cancellation were made out and, if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. This involved assessing whether the applicant had failed to comply with sections 101(b) (providing correct information in a visa application) and 103 (not providing bogus documents) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Tribunal also had to consider whether the notice issued under section 107 of the Act complied with its statutory requirements and whether the applicant's visa grant was based on incorrect information.

The Tribunal found that the notice issued under section 107 was valid and that the applicant had indeed failed to comply with the Act. It was established that the IELTS test report submitted by the applicant was fraudulent, having been obtained by an imposter, and therefore constituted a "bogus document" as defined by section 5(1) of the Act. The Tribunal applied the principle that an answer to a question is incorrect even if the applicant was unaware of the inaccuracy, and that providing a bogus document is a breach of the Act. The Tribunal concluded that the visa was granted based on this incorrect information and that the applicant had not demonstrated cause why the visa should not be cancelled.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa. The Tribunal noted that it had no jurisdiction with respect to any other applicants.