PARK (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to cancel the subclass 572 student visa of a South Korean citizen. The applicant's visa, granted in June 2015 with an expiry date of June 2018, permitted him to reside in Australia for full-time study. The delegate cancelled the visa on the grounds that the applicant had breached the condition requiring him to remain enrolled in a registered course of study.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had indeed breached condition 8202(2)(a) of his visa, which mandated continuous full-time enrolment in a registered course. If this breach was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether the visa should be cancelled pursuant to section 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The delegate's finding of a breach was based on information from the PRISMS database, which indicated the applicant was not enrolled in a registered course for a continuous period of over eight months, from January to September 2017.

The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including the applicant's testimony and arguments made by his migration agent. The delegate's decision relied on the PRISMS database, a system used to administer the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and track international student enrolment status. The Tribunal's task was to determine the accuracy of the PRISMS data concerning the applicant's enrolment and, if a breach was found, to exercise its discretion regarding visa cancellation.