SINGH (Migration)

This matter concerns the review of a decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa. The applicant's enrolment in a Bachelor of Information Technology course with QUT was cancelled on 11 August 2014, leading to the delegate's finding that the applicant had failed to meet the criteria for the grant of his visa, specifically condition 8516 which requires a visa holder to continue to satisfy the criteria for the grant of their visa. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the ground for cancellation under s 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) existed and, if so, whether to exercise its discretion to affirm the cancellation.

The Tribunal found that the ground for cancellation under s 116(1)(b) was made out, as the applicant had failed to comply with condition 8516 by not remaining enrolled in a Higher Education (HE) course. The applicant had abandoned his initial IT studies and subsequently enrolled in several Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, which did not satisfy the HE course requirement for his visa. While the applicant later enrolled in a Bachelor of Business degree, his enrolment was withdrawn following a car accident and subsequent difficulties in deferring or transferring his studies. The Tribunal considered the applicant's responsibility to meet his visa conditions and noted that his failure to remain enrolled in a HE course from August 2014 until February 2015 weighed in favour of affirming the cancellation. However, the Tribunal ultimately concluded that the decision to cancel the applicant's visa should be set aside.