Wanless (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) considered the cancellation of the applicant's Working Holiday (Temporary) (Class TZ) visa, subclass 417. The dispute arose from allegations that the applicant provided incorrect information in his visa application concerning specified work in a regional area. The applicant conceded that he did not perform the claimed regional work and accepted responsibility for the information provided in his visa application, despite initially attempting to distance himself from its completion.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant had failed to comply with the requirements of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by providing incorrect information in his visa application, and if so, whether the decision to cancel his visa should be affirmed. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's explanation for the incorrect information and determine if there were grounds to exercise discretion against cancellation.

The Tribunal applied sections 98, 99, 100, and 101 of the *Migration Act 1958*, which establish that a non-citizen is responsible for information provided in a visa application, even if they did not personally complete it, and that an answer is considered incorrect regardless of the applicant's knowledge. The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided incorrect information regarding his regional employment, constituting non-compliance with section 101 of the Act. Despite the applicant's personal circumstances, including mental health concerns and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tribunal concluded that these factors did not outweigh the seriousness of providing false information in a visa application.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's subclass 417 visa.