Shubhechchha (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the decision to cancel the applicant's Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The applicant had been granted the visa on 24 May 2017, and a delegate later issued a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation due to alleged breaches of visa conditions. The applicant responded by detailing a series of difficulties in enrolling in and maintaining a course of study, including issues with her education provider, a deterioration in her mental health, and financial struggles. Despite these explanations, the delegate proceeded to cancel her visa on 20 August 2018.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached Condition 8202 of her Student visa, which requires the holder to be enrolled in a registered course and to maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance. The Tribunal was also required to consider whether, having found a breach, there were compelling reasons to exercise discretion and not cancel the visa. The applicant contended that her inability to comply with Condition 8202 was due to circumstances beyond her control, including significant personal difficulties and issues with educational institutions.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not complied with Condition 8202(2)(a) of her Student visa, as she was not enrolled in a registered course of study from 5 October 2017 to 5 August 2018. While acknowledging the applicant's initial intention to study and her stated mental health challenges, the Tribunal concluded that she had made a series of poor decisions that impacted her ability to study. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had not studied since October 2017, other than a brief period in a General English course in 2019, and had not fulfilled the purpose for which she travelled to Australia. The Tribunal weighed the grounds for cancellation against the grounds for not cancelling the visa and determined that the former outweighed the latter.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Student visa.