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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of McCombie and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute concerned the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's Special Category (temporary) visa due to failing the character test. The applicant sought to have this cancellation revoked, arguing there was another reason to do so.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether there was another reason to revoke the mandatory cancellation decision, having regard to Ministerial Direction No. 99. This involved assessing the applicant's character concerns, the protection of the Australian community, and other relevant considerations outlined in the Direction.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on a holistic application of Ministerial Direction No. 99. It found that while the applicant's index offending, a conviction for grievous bodily harm, was serious, it was mitigated by several factors. These included the applicant's low recidivist risk, supported by assessments from Queensland Corrective Services and expert evidence from Professor Freeman, who found the applicant to be well-adjusted with no psychopathological symptoms. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's remorse, his strong work ethic, the impact of his offending on his family, and the support he received from them. Furthermore, the applicant's offending history, both in New Zealand and Australia, was found to be dated and relatively minor, with the exception of the index offence. The Tribunal concluded that these factors, when considered together, constituted another reason to revoke the mandatory cancellation decision.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision to refuse to revoke the mandatory cancellation and substituted it with a decision to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa.