Liang (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Ms Liang, who sought to have the cancellation of her Subclass 155 (Five Year Resident Return) visa set aside. The cancellation arose from the applicant's failure to disclose information about her husband's two children from a previous relationship in an earlier visa application, although she claimed to have been unaware of this relationship and the children.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether, in light of the non-compliance identified, the applicant's Subclass 155 visa should be cancelled, or if discretion should be exercised not to cancel it. This involved assessing the applicant's circumstances, including the balance of the family test, her long and settled residence in Australia with her own child and grandchildren, her physical health and ongoing medical treatment, and the hardship she would face if the cancellation were affirmed.

The Tribunal found that while there had been non-compliance in the previous visa application as described in the notice given under s.107 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), it concluded that, having regard to all the relevant circumstances, the visa should not be cancelled. The Tribunal exercised its discretion to set aside the decision under review and substitute a decision not to cancel the applicant's visa.