Community Safety to Be Elevated in Visa Cancellations

Community safety is being elevated to become the primary concern when considering whether a criminal’s visa should remain revoked under a new order. The immigration minister has come under fire for a direction he issued that allowed the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)—which reviews visa cases—to overturn cancellations if the person had a strong connection with Australia. The direction is one of a handful the AAT must take into account as “primary considerations” when deciding whether to uphold a person’s visa cancellation. Other factors include family violence offences and community interests. The new direction will make it “absolutely crystal clear for the AAT and departmental officials interpreting it that community safety is to be the number one priority, more than anything else,” cabinet minister Murray Watt said....