Kaur (Migration)

The applicant, Ms Kaur, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to cancel her Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The cancellation was based on the ground that Ms Kaur was not enrolled in a registered course, a condition of her visa.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the Minister's delegate had erred in exercising the discretion to cancel Ms Kaur's visa. Specifically, the court considered whether the delegate had failed to properly take into account the "vicissitudes of life" and the emotional stress Ms Kaur experienced, which she argued contributed to her failure to maintain enrolment.

Justice Harkess found that while the delegate acknowledged the applicant's stated difficulties, the delegate was entitled to conclude that Ms Kaur had not taken reasonable steps to comply with her visa conditions. The court affirmed that the responsibility to comply with visa conditions rests with the visa holder, and that personal circumstances, while relevant to the exercise of discretion, do not automatically excuse a failure to meet those obligations. The delegate's decision was found to be open to them on the evidence before them.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.