Richey and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr. Richey (the Applicant) for the revocation of a decision to cancel his visa. The visa cancellation was made by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs under section 501(3A) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) due to the Applicant failing to pass the character test. The Tribunal was required to determine whether to revoke this cancellation under section 501CA(4) of the Act.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant passed the character test, and if not, whether there was "another reason" why the visa cancellation should be revoked. In making this determination, the Tribunal was bound to comply with Ministerial Direction No. 90, which outlines the framework and considerations for such revocation decisions. This included assessing the primary consideration of protecting the Australian community from criminal or other serious conduct, and the second primary consideration of family violence.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Applicant did not pass the character test, given his criminal history which included multiple instances of drink-driving and violent offences, including two family violence offences in 2015. Applying Ministerial Direction No. 90, the Tribunal found that the protection of the Australian community from criminal conduct weighed heavily in favour of visa cancellation. Furthermore, the Tribunal determined that the Applicant's history of family violence also weighed heavily in favour of cancellation. After considering these primary considerations, the Tribunal concluded that there was no "another reason" to revoke the visa cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the reviewable decision, meaning the Applicant's visa cancellation was upheld.