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

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant, Seupule, against the decision of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs not to revoke the mandatory cancellation of his Class TY Subclass 444 Special Category visa. The Applicant did not pass the character test, leading to the mandatory cancellation of his visa. The appeal was heard by Theodore Tavoularis SM in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there was "another reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the Applicant's visa, as contemplated by section 501CA(4) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to consider Ministerial Direction No. 79, which outlines the framework for such decisions, including the protection of the Australian community and the nature and seriousness of the Applicant's conduct.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on Primary Consideration A of Ministerial Direction No. 79, which mandates consideration of the principle that remaining in Australia is a privilege and that non-citizens are expected to be law-abiding. The Tribunal examined the Applicant's offending history, which spanned from June 2000 to March 2020, comprising 17 offences across seven sentencing episodes. While acknowledging the seriousness of some offences, the Tribunal noted that the offending did not demonstrate a specific pattern and appeared to be influenced by significant personal factors, including the tragic death of his child in 2017. The Tribunal found that these factors constituted "another reason" to revoke the cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision not to revoke the visa cancellation and substituted a decision to exercise the discretion conferred by section 501CA(4) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) to revoke the cancellation. The matter was listed for a resumed hearing to determine further steps.