NRVC and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by NRVC for the revocation of the mandatory cancellation of his visa. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection had cancelled NRVC's visa on the grounds that he had a "substantial criminal record" and did not pass the "character test". The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether to revoke this cancellation.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether NRVC presented an unacceptable risk to the Australian community and whether there were other reasons to revoke the mandatory visa cancellation. In making this determination, the Tribunal was bound by Direction 65, which outlines the considerations for revoking a visa cancellation. This included the primary considerations of protecting the Australian community, the best interests of minor children, and the expectations of the Australian community. The Tribunal was also required to give due consideration to the general guidance and principles set out in the Preamble of Direction 65, particularly regarding the community's expectation that serious offenders should forfeit their privilege to remain in Australia, and the varying tolerance for criminal conduct based on the length of time a non-citizen has lived in Australia.

The Tribunal considered evidence of NRVC's reform and rehabilitation, including his successful completion of numerous voluntary programs in prison, his expressed remorse for his past offending, his employment prospects and previous work history, his good behaviour in prison and immigration detention, and his having a place to live and community support upon release. The Tribunal acknowledged that NRVC was young when he committed the offences, had matured, had support from family and friends, and no longer associated with negative influences. Despite these countervailing considerations, the Tribunal ultimately affirmed the decision to cancel NRVC's visa, finding that the protection of the Australian community from criminal conduct was a paramount consideration.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel NRVC's visa.