Pannu (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant whose Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573, was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates enrolment in a registered course. The applicant's visa was cancelled by the Department on the grounds that he had not been enrolled in a registered course for approximately 12 months prior to the notice of intention to consider cancellation.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had complied with condition 8202 of his visa. This condition requires the visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course and to maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance, as certified by their education provider. The Tribunal was also required to consider whether, having found a breach, it should exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed breached condition 8202(2) by failing to maintain enrolment in a registered course. Despite the applicant's subsequent explanation of personal difficulties, including depression and family issues, the Tribunal was not satisfied that these circumstances warranted overriding the cancellation decision. The Tribunal noted that while the applicant might suffer financial hardship and face limitations on future visa applications, these factors, when weighed against the substantial breach of a mandatory visa condition, did not persuade the Tribunal to exercise its discretion against cancellation. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to cancel the applicant's visa.