Raja (Migration)

This matter concerned a review of a decision by the Department of Home Affairs to cancel the applicant's Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The applicant had failed to attend a hearing before the Tribunal, and the Department's decision to cancel the visa was based on the applicant's alleged non-compliance with visa condition 8202(2)(a), which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course of study.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary issues: first, whether the applicant had indeed breached condition 8202(2)(a) by not being enrolled in a registered course; and second, if a breach was established, whether the applicant's visa should be cancelled in the exercise of the Minister's discretion under section 116(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal found that the applicant's enrolment in the Master of Data Science (MDS) course at the University of Queensland (UQ) was cancelled on 8 March 2018. This was evidenced by PRISMS records and an email from UQ. Crucially, an earlier email from UQ indicated that the cancellation was due to the applicant submitting a fraudulent academic transcript as part of the admissions process. In the absence of evidence from the applicant to suggest this breach was beyond his control, the Tribunal concluded that the breach of condition 8202(2)(a) was clearly established. The Tribunal then considered the discretionary power to cancel the visa, noting that while no specific matters were mandated for consideration, it must have regard to the individual circumstances of the case. Given the established breach, and the lack of any mitigating factors presented by the applicant, the Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision to cancel the visa.