Novak Djokovic wins court bid to remain in Australia until Monday

World No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic will stay in Melbourne until Monday after launching a last-minute bid in the Federal Circuit Court to stop the federal government from deporting him before the Australian Open begins.

Lawyers for the Serbian star appeared in an online hearing on Thursday, after he had his visa cancelled upon arrival in Australia and was sent to immigration detention at the Park Hotel in Carlton.

The Park Hotel where Novak Djokovic, inset, is in immigration detention.Credit: Chris Hopkins, Getty Images

As the hearing continued into the evening after two earlier adjournments, Djokovic’s lawyers secured an interim injunction that prevents authorities deporting the tennis star until at least 4pm on Monday, when a more substantive hearing is scheduled.

Barrister Christopher Tran, acting for the federal government, said the government did not oppose an injunction against immediate deportation. Judge Anthony Kelly adjourned the case to be heard from 10am on Monday - one week before the Australian Open starts.

Djokovic’s legal challenge began on Thursday afternoon, but Judge Kelly twice adjourned the hearing because he hadn’t received the written material filed by Djokovic’s lawyers.

Judge Kelly said he was “strongly inclined” to hear the case speedily and was open to having Djokovic give evidence, if necessary, in an online hearing.

Novak Djokovic presents his travel papers after arriving at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday evening.Credit: Nine News

But the judge also warned that he would not be bound by Tennis Australia’s preference that the issue be resolved by Tuesday. Tournament organisers would need time to find a replacement player if Djokovic doesn’t compete.

“If I can say with the respect necessary, the tail won’t be wagging the dog here,” Judge Kelly said.

Earlier, Judge Kelly asked if the world No.1 had access to a tennis court for practice at his hotel.

Nick Wood, SC, for Djokovic, said he was open to discussions with authorities in an attempt to find a way for his client to play, but said resolving the visa dispute was the key.

“But as I sit here, the absence of a visa, if the cancellation decision is valid, is an insuperable obstacle to Mr Djokovic competing in the tournament,” he said.

Mr Wood later asked Judge Kelly for an injunction that would allow Djokovic to stay in Melbourne until the judge’s final ruling.

However, the judge suggested that request was an “overreach”, though he said it would be a concern if the tennis star was deported before his case was decided.

Mr Wood also requested the case be finalised before the Open began on January 17, however Judge Kelly said the Federal Circuit Court was notorious for cases to result in a “cascading series of appeals”.

According to the federal government, the approval for the visas was an automated process and it was always up to individuals to prove their vaccination status or valid exemptions on arrival. Border Force regularly turns away people who cannot meet their visa requirements.

“Rules are rules and there are no special cases,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. “I want to thank the border officers for doing their job.”

He said strong border controls had protected Australia from the worst of the pandemic and that, ultimately, it was the responsibility of travellers to adhere to the rules.

“It is simply a matter of following the rules,” Mr Morrison said. “Over the next few hours ... that event will play out as it should.”

Ranked No.1 in the world, Djokovic has won the Australian Open nine times and a 10th title would take him past rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are tied with him for the men’s record of 20 career grand slam wins.

Djokovic and his support staff arrived at Melbourne Airport late on Wednesday night and left about 10am on Thursday. Shortly afterward, media gathered outside the Park Hotel in Carlton, the immigration facility where he is being detained.

Legal sources told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that Djokovic’s lawyers would need to highlight a substantive error in the decision to cancel his visa for him to stay in Australia, that it would be insufficient to review the decision again and that the standing as the world’s best men’s player would carry no clout in court.

Carina Ford, an immigration law specialist with no connection to the case, said Djokovic’s lawyers would be mindful that anyone who has a visa cancelled can be barred from reapplying to enter Australia for three years, unless they have a waiver.

“It does have serious consequences,” she said.

Djokovic has expressed anti-vaccination sentiments in the past, but believed he would be allowed into Australia after a letter of support from Tennis Australia.

Federal health authorities told Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley on two occasions in writing that people who were not vaccinated and had contracted COVID-19 in the past six months would not be granted quarantine-free travel to Australia.

The emergence of two letters from the Department of Health and Health Minister Greg Hunt in November casts doubt over why tennis star Novak Djokovic was granted an exemption to play in the Australian Open by health panels set up by Tennis Australia and the Victorian government.

According to multiple sources, the world No.1 men’s player applied for an exemption on the basis that he had contracted COVID-19 in the previous six months.

In a letter sent to Mr Tiley on November 18, Department of Health First Assistant Secretary Lisa Schofield said that “people who have previously had COVID-19 and not received a vaccine dose are not considered fully vaccinated”.

Ms Schofield said such people would “not be approved for quarantine-free entry, regardless of whether they have received foreign vaccination exemptions”.

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