Dhillon (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr Dhillon, who held a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 Higher Education Sector. The dispute arose from the cancellation of Mr Dhillon's visa by the Department of Home Affairs, which he sought to have reviewed by the Tribunal. The primary issue was whether Mr Dhillon had breached a condition of his visa, leading to its cancellation.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr Dhillon had complied with condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether Mr Dhillon had remained enrolled in a registered course of study as required by condition 8202(2)(a). If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, having regard to the circumstances of the breach and any submissions made by the applicant.

The Tribunal found that Mr Dhillon had not disputed his non-enrolment in a registered course of study from 5 September 2016 until 16 June 2017, a period of approximately nine months. This non-compliance with condition 8202(2)(a) was considered a significant and serious breach, particularly given the purpose of a student visa is to facilitate study in Australia. While Mr Dhillon provided reasons for his non-enrolment, including ignorance of obligations, poor advice, and personal stress, the Tribunal noted that he had maintained employment during this period and had only re-enrolled after receiving a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation. The Tribunal concluded that the circumstances did not warrant the exercise of discretion to set aside the cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr Dhillon's visa.