Jayaweera (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Jayaweera, an applicant whose Temporary (Class TU) Student visa, Subclass 573, was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course and maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had complied with condition 8202 of his student visa. This condition mandates enrolment in a registered course and satisfactory academic progress and attendance. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not complied with condition 8202(2) as he was not enrolled in a registered course. Evidence showed the applicant had failed to complete or commence multiple courses due to an inability to meet fee payment arrangements. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's circumstances, including his stated intention for coming to Australia, his part-time work, and the hardship he might face if his visa were cancelled. However, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant's prolonged period of non-enrolment and lack of academic achievement indicated a change in his original purpose for being in Australia, and that the limited evidence of hardship did not outweigh the breach of visa conditions. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.