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

This matter concerned an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs' decision to refuse to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's Class TY 444 Special (Temporary) visa. The applicant did not pass the character test due to drug trafficking and other drug-related offences.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether there was "another reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation decision, considering the framework provided by Ministerial Direction No. 90. This involved assessing the primary considerations, including the protection of the Australian community, the nature of the applicant's conduct, and the expectations of the Australian community, as well as other considerations such as the applicant's links to Australia and the extent of impediments if removed.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Australia has a sovereign right to determine who remains in the country and a low tolerance for criminal conduct, it must also consider countervailing factors. In this instance, the Tribunal found that the applicant's earlier offending, which resulted in no convictions recorded and non-custodial sentences, would cause minimal harm to the Australian community if repeated. The Tribunal noted that the harm caused by re-offending in relation to these earlier offences would primarily be to the applicant himself, with the only additional harm to the community being the administrative burden on law enforcement.

The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted it with a decision to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa.