McKenna (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa. The dispute arose from the applicant's visa application, where they indicated they had undertaken three months of specified work in regional Australia as a holder of a first Working Holiday visa. The Department subsequently received information from the applicant's stated employer indicating no record of the applicant's employment. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) was required to determine whether the applicant had failed to comply with section 101(b) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by providing incorrect information in their visa application, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled.

The Tribunal considered the provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) relating to visa applications and cancellation. Specifically, section 101(b) requires that no incorrect answers be given in a visa application form. The Tribunal noted that section 100 clarifies that an answer is considered incorrect even if the applicant was unaware of its inaccuracy. The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided specific answers in their application form regarding their employment, and that the information received from the purported employer contradicted these answers. As the applicant had not provided any evidence to dispute the employer's advice, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant had provided incorrect information, constituting non-compliance with section 101(b).

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa. The Tribunal was satisfied that the delegate had issued a valid notice under section 107 of the Act, detailing the particulars of the possible non-compliance. Having found that the applicant did indeed provide incorrect information in their visa application, and having considered all relevant circumstances, the Tribunal concluded that the cancellation of the visa was appropriate.