Hearing vacated after Dean Martin provided further evidence to the court, proving his Aboriginal descent

Dean Martin, the ex-Rebels bikie and uncle of Richmond superstar Dustin Martin, has walked free from immigration detention after scoring a major legal win.

Former Rebels bikie Dean Martin will no longer be deported. Picture: 9 News

The bikie uncle of AFL champion Dustin Martin will no longer be deported after proving he is Aboriginal.

The Herald Sun can reveal Dean William Martin, 56, walked free from Melbourne Immigration Detention Centre last week in a huge win for the former Rebels bikie.

He was set to fight the Albanese government against his deportation to New Zealand in a two-day Supreme Court showdown from Wednesday.

But it is understood the hearing was vacated after Martin last week provided further evidence to the court, proving his Aboriginal descent.

Dean Martin’s nephew is recently retired Tigers champion Dustin Martin. Picture: Getty

It meant the government had no choice but to back down from its move to deport him on character grounds, with a High Court ruling from 2020 finding non-citizen Aboriginal Australians could not be deported as aliens under the constitution.

A spokesperson for Home Affairs minister Tony Burke said the High Court rulings made under the Morrison Government meant if a detainee reached certain thresholds they could not be deported.

“Last week the government received advice that those thresholds had been met in this case and Mr Martin was to be released,” the spokesperson said.

“We’ve handled this in the same way the previous government handled detainees who met the same threshold.”

On July 18, the minister used character grounds to cancel Martin’s Special Category (subclass 444) visa, which allows New Zealand citizens to visit, study, stay and work in Australia.

Four days later, Martin, who was the national president of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang for more than two decades, was notified of the decision and detained in immigration detention.

The move came amid the controversy surrounding the CFMEU, in which Mr Martin was a delegate in Victoria.

It was criticised by outspoken Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe, who previously dated Martin and claimed the government had made “a mistake”.

Senator Lidia Thorpe with Dean Martin

“How can an Aboriginal man be deported from his own country,” she said.

Court documents outline Mr Martin is a recognised member of the Manegin Aboriginal community in Tasmania.

Mr Martin has now been placed on a special purposes visa which allows him to stay in the country.

The Herald Sun has been told Dean’s brother Shane considered a High Court challenge based on his claim to Aboriginality.

But he never went through with it and was deported in 2018, dying three years later in Auckland.

Originally published as Hearing vacated after Dean Martin provided further evidence to the court, proving his Aboriginal descent