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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of GRQV and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute concerned the mandatory cancellation of GRQV's visa due to his failure to pass the character test. GRQV sought to have this cancellation revoked, arguing that there was another reason why the decision should be set aside.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether there was "another reason" why the mandatory visa cancellation decision should be revoked, pursuant to section 501CA(4)(b)(ii) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). In making this determination, the Tribunal had to consider the relevant primary and other considerations as outlined in Ministerial Direction No. 99, including the protection of the Australian community, the nature and seriousness of GRQV's offending conduct, the risk of reoffending, and any impediments to his removal from Australia, such as non-refoulement obligations.

The Tribunal applied the principles set out in Ministerial Direction No. 99, which requires decision-makers to consider the protection of the Australian community and the nature and seriousness of the non-citizen's conduct. The Tribunal noted that while GRQV had committed offences, including an act of family violence and an offence while in immigration detention, it also had regard to his difficult past, including experiences of persecution and violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and his current mental health struggles. The Tribunal found that while GRQV did not pass the character test, there were other reasons, on the balance of probabilities, why the mandatory visa cancellation decision should be revoked, taking into account his low risk of reoffending and the potential impediments to his removal.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the mandatory visa cancellation decision and substituted it with a decision to revoke the cancellation.