English and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

The applicant, Brian George English, sought the revocation of the mandatory cancellation of his Class BF transitional (permanent) visa. The cancellation was based on his failure to pass the character test. The dispute before the Tribunal concerned whether there was another reason to revoke this mandatory cancellation, considering Ministerial Direction No. 90.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant's circumstances warranted the revocation of the mandatory visa cancellation, specifically in light of Ministerial Direction No. 90, which guides decisions on revoking such cancellations. This involved assessing the applicant's submitted reasons for revocation against the criteria outlined in the Direction, particularly concerning his history of family violence.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's submissions, including his long residence in Australia, his daughters under 16, and his remorse for his actions. However, the Tribunal found that Primary Consideration 1 weighed against revocation. Crucially, under Primary Consideration 2, concerning family violence, the Tribunal noted that the applicant had been convicted of no less than seven offences involving family violence over approximately 22 months. The Tribunal also observed a trend of increasing seriousness in these offences, with associated assaults occasioning bodily harm attracting significant custodial sentences. Applying paragraph 8.2 of Ministerial Direction No. 90, the Tribunal concluded that the circumstances of the applicant's family violence conduct did not require repetition to be considered serious, and the frequency and increasing seriousness of his offending weighed heavily against revocation.

Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it could not exercise the discretion to revoke the cancellation of the applicant's visa. The decision under review, which affirmed the mandatory cancellation, was therefore affirmed.