Dinh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant whose Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates maintaining enrolment in a registered course and satisfactory course progress and attendance. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had indeed breached this condition and, if so, whether the cancellation of the visa should be affirmed.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's enrolment status. It was established that the applicant had not been enrolled in a registered course of study since 17 August 2016, a period exceeding eight months at the time of the delegate's decision. This failure to maintain enrolment constituted a breach of condition 8202(2) of the Migration Regulations. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's claims regarding family illness and financial hardship, which were presented as reasons for the gap in enrolment. However, the Tribunal found these claims unsubstantiated due to a lack of corroborating medical evidence, noting that attachments provided were unable to be opened. Furthermore, the Tribunal found no evidence that the applicant had enrolled in a new course as claimed or sought a deferment of studies.

Having found a breach of a visa condition, the Tribunal then exercised its discretion regarding visa cancellation. It considered the purpose of a student visa, which is to enable study in Australia, and noted that the applicant had not provided evidence of any attempts to re-enrol or continue studies since ceasing enrolment. The Tribunal concluded that, on the limited evidence before it, the circumstances did not warrant setting aside the cancellation. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.