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

This matter concerned an application by the applicant, a United States citizen, for the revocation of a mandatory visa cancellation. The applicant held a Class BF transitional (permanent) visa and had failed to pass the character test due to a substantial criminal record, which included serious violent offences, offences against public officers, and domestic violence offences. The delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs affirmed the decision to cancel the visa, and the applicant sought review by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there was "another reason" to revoke the mandatory cancellation of the applicant's visa under section 501CA of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). In determining this, the Tribunal was required to apply Ministerial Direction No. 99, which outlines the considerations for assessing whether to revoke a mandatory visa cancellation. This involved weighing various factors, including the protection of the Australian community, the applicant's conduct to date, the risk of future offending, and any evidence of rehabilitation.

The Tribunal considered the nature and seriousness of the applicant's conduct, noting that it included violent offending, breaching court orders, dangerous driving, property damage, and break and enter offences. It found that the type of harm posed by the applicant and the harm already inflicted was so serious that any material risk of reoffending was unacceptable. While acknowledging the applicant's belief in his reduced risk of reoffending due to therapy and counselling, the Tribunal found a lack of credible independent evidence of rehabilitation. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's rehabilitation efforts were insufficient and had not been tested in an uncontrolled community environment. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant posed a high risk of reoffending, and this primary consideration carried significant weight against revoking the visa cancellation.