Giorgio Vincenzo Leotta And Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

This matter concerned an appeal by Giorgio Vincenzo Leotta against a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to mandatorily cancel his visa on character grounds under section 501(3A) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The appeal was heard by Deputy President B W Rayment OAM QC.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to exercise the discretion to revoke the visa cancellation, considering the factors outlined in Direction No. 79. This involved balancing the protection of the Australian community against the best interests of the applicant's minor children and other relevant considerations, such as the strength of his ties to Australia and the impediments he would face if removed.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant's offending history, involving drugs, weighed in favour of non-revocation, other factors strongly supported revocation. The applicant had demonstrated a significant period of abstinence from drugs, had strong family ties in Australia, and faced considerable impediments to rehabilitation in Germany or Italy due to his lifelong residence and lack of language proficiency in those countries. The Tribunal found that deporting the applicant would devastate his family, including his minor children, and that his prospects of rehabilitation were significantly better in Australia.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the reviewable decision and revoked the cancellation of the applicant's visa, finding that it would be a very strong thing to separate him from his family after he had lived in Australia for almost his entire life and had demonstrated a strong motivation to avoid reoffending.