YLFR and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse a visa to the Applicant, Mr B, who was a citizen of the United Kingdom. The dispute centred on whether Mr B satisfied the character test under section 501(6) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Applicant sought to travel to Australia to visit his son, who is an Australian citizen serving in the Australian Defence Force, and his grandchildren. The court was the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr B presented a more than minimal or remote risk of reoffending, thereby failing the character test. This required an assessment of his past criminal offending, which occurred between May 2005 and September 2009, and the evidence of his subsequent rehabilitation and reform. The Tribunal had to consider the seriousness of the offences, which included instances of battery, common assault, driving with excess alcohol, and sending a threatening letter, in light of the penalties imposed at the time, which were generally cautions or community-based orders.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the Applicant had a history of offending, particularly when intoxicated, there was strong evidence of his rehabilitation and reform since his last offence in 2009. The Tribunal accepted the credible accounts of Mr B and his wife regarding the circumstances of his past offending and noted that the penalties imposed suggested the offences were considered to be at the lower end of the seriousness spectrum. Despite the general policy against granting visas to individuals with a history of domestic violence, the Tribunal found that Mr B's case was exceptional due to the overwhelming evidence of his successful rehabilitation. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr B passed the character test.

The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted it with a finding that the Applicant passes the character test under section 501(6) of the *Migration Act 1958*. Accordingly, the visa application was not to be refused under section 501(1) of the Act.