Varinder (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant whose Subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector) student visa was cancelled. The dispute arose because the applicant was not enrolled in a registered course, which constituted a breach of condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had complied with this condition and, if not, whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed breached condition 8202(2) of the Regulations, as they were not enrolled in a registered course since 18 January 2016, an fact admitted by the applicant. In considering the exercise of discretion to cancel the visa, the Tribunal had regard to the applicant's submissions and relevant government policy. The applicant had initially enrolled in an English language course followed by IT studies, but had withdrawn from the IT courses due to parental insistence. Subsequently, the applicant completed vocational automotive courses but was not enrolled in a registered course at the time of the cancellation decision, despite receiving an offer of enrolment shortly before the hearing.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's significant time spent studying vocational courses and periods of non-enrolment, coupled with a stated lack of desire to undertake a higher education course, weighed against exercising discretion to retain the visa. While potential hardship was considered, it did not outweigh the grounds for cancellation. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.