HGBY and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse a Class XB Subclass 200 refugee visa, where the refusal was based on character grounds under section 501 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The applicant, HGBY, sought to have the decision to refuse the visa reviewed by the Tribunal.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether HGBY met the character requirements for the visa, particularly in light of his criminal conduct, and whether there were any compelling reasons to revoke the original decision to refuse the visa. This involved considering the principles outlined in Ministerial Direction 65, which mandates that the protection of the Australian community is the primary consideration in such cases.

The Tribunal considered HGBY's offending, which primarily occurred within a three-year period culminating in his incarceration. The Tribunal examined specific deception offences, including the passing of valueless cheques for a motor vehicle between April and September 2011. The Tribunal adopted the description of these offences from the Magistrate's findings, noting that HGBY knowingly provided a worthless cheque for a vehicle and subsequently sold it for a lesser amount, admitting to police that he knew he had no funds in his account and had never used a cheque in this manner before. The Tribunal inferred that HGBY knew his conduct was illegal and that he would face arrest and prosecution.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the original decision not to revoke the cancellation of HGBY's Class XB Subclass 200 visa, concluding that there was no other reason to depart from the decision to refuse the visa, given the primary consideration of protecting the Australian community.