RIAZ (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Riaz, an applicant for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 Higher Education Sector. The dispute concerned the cancellation of Riaz's visa. The AAT was required to determine whether the grounds for cancellation under section 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) existed and, if so, whether the discretion to cancel the visa should be exercised.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Riaz had failed to comply with a condition of his visa, specifically condition 8516, which requires a visa holder to continue to satisfy the criteria for the grant of the visa. If this ground for cancellation was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, taking into account all relevant circumstances.

The Tribunal found that Riaz had not complied with condition 8516 as his enrolment in a Diploma of Business and later a Bachelor of Business did not satisfy the requirements for a subclass 573 visa after 14 July 2015. While acknowledging Riaz's grief and immaturity as factors affecting his disengagement from studies, the Tribunal found he had embellished the extent of his bereavement and had not sought assistance from his education provider. Despite these findings, the Tribunal ultimately concluded that the decision to cancel Riaz's visa should be set aside, indicating that the discretion to cancel was not exercised in this instance.