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

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs not to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's Class TY Subclass 444 Special Category (Temporary) visa. The applicant did not pass the character test, which triggered the mandatory cancellation. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether there was another reason to revoke this cancellation.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether, in light of Ministerial Direction No 79, there were sufficient grounds to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa. This involved a detailed consideration of the primary considerations outlined in the Direction, particularly the protection of the Australian community from harm. The Tribunal was required to assess the nature and seriousness of the applicant's conduct to date and the risk to the community should further offending occur, having regard to the applicant's criminal history.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal applied the principles set out in Ministerial Direction No 79, emphasising the government's commitment to protecting the Australian community and the expectation that non-citizens will be law-abiding. The Tribunal meticulously examined the applicant's extensive criminal offending history, which was evidenced by numerous documents including court transcripts, criminal history reports, sentencing remarks, inmate misconduct reports, and police summaries. Despite the applicant's submissions, the Tribunal found that the evidence did not support a conclusion that there was another reason to revoke the mandatory cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision of 29 November 2019 not to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa.