LRMM and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

The matter before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerned an application by LRMM for the non-revocation of a mandatory cancellation of his Class XB Subclass 200 Refugee visa. The dispute arose because LRMM did not pass the character test, and the Tribunal was required to determine whether there was "another reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation decision, considering Ministerial Direction 99.

The Tribunal was tasked with assessing LRMM's risk of reoffending, taking into account various categories of evidence including his own statements, the evidence of a social contact, a clinical and forensic psychologist, and a counsellor. Crucially, the Tribunal had to consider the impact of the High Court's decision in *Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs v Thornton* [2023] HCA 17, which excluded certain offending committed as a child from the assessment of the totality of LRMM's conduct. The Tribunal also had to weigh the primary consideration of protecting the Australian community against other considerations outlined in Ministerial Direction 99, such as the legal consequences of the decision, the extent of impediments to removal, and the best interests of minor children.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that while the risk of reoffending was low, subject to ongoing counselling, and that the best interests of minor children, community ties, and the severe impediments to removal weighed in favour of revocation, these considerations were outweighed by the protection of the Australian community. The Tribunal concluded that there was no "other reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation of LRMM's visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision of the delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, made on 12 January 2021, to not revoke the mandatory cancellation of LRMM's visa.