LE (MIGRATION)

The applicant, LE, sought judicial review of the Minister's decision to cancel her Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector). The dispute centred on whether the Minister had properly exercised her discretion to cancel the visa, notwithstanding the existence of a ground for cancellation. The matter came before Susan Trotter.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Minister's decision to cancel LE's visa was affected by jurisdictional error. This required the court to consider whether the Minister had failed to take into account relevant considerations or taken into account irrelevant considerations when exercising her discretion to cancel the visa, particularly in light of circumstances that may have been beyond the applicant's control, such as inadequate or misleading advice from education agents, and LE's genuine intention to study.

Susan Trotter found that the delegate's decision-making process did not demonstrate a failure to consider relevant factors or the consideration of irrelevant factors. The delegate had acknowledged the applicant's submissions regarding the advice received from education agents and the genuine intention to study. However, the delegate weighed these factors against the fact that the applicant was not enrolled in a registered course for a period, which constituted a breach of visa conditions. The court affirmed that the delegate was entitled to reach the conclusion that the circumstances did not warrant the exercise of discretion to waive cancellation.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.