RGCZ and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa to a citizen of Lebanon. The applicant had failed to pass the character test due to family violence offending. The review was heard by A. Nikolic Am Csc SM.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the discretion to refuse the visa should be exercised, notwithstanding the applicant's failure to pass the character test, having regard to Ministerial Direction 90. This involved assessing the weight to be given to the applicant's offending, the impact of a refusal on his Australian citizen partner and their children, and the applicant's prospects for rehabilitation and contribution to Australia.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the visa. It found that the applicant's offending, which included recklessly causing injury and contravening family violence orders against his partner, was serious and carried significant weight. While acknowledging the Review Applicant's desire for the Visa Applicant to be in Australia and the potential impact on their children, the Tribunal found that the risk posed by the Visa Applicant's past behaviour, particularly in light of previous intervention orders and a finding of extreme risk of violence by Victoria Police, outweighed the mitigating factors. The Tribunal noted inconsistencies in the Review Applicant's evidence regarding the family violence incidents and concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated that the discretion to grant the visa should be exercised in his favour.