Tony Burke under fire for visa cancellation record

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke did not revoke a single visa due to poor character in his first month in the portfolio, after his predecessor cancelled 77 visas in about a year.

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke did not ­revoke one visa on poor-character grounds in his first month in the portfolio, after his predecessor went on a spree cancelling 77 visas in about a year under a crackdown on foreign criminals.

Amid mounting political pressure following a string of immigration debacles including the Direction 99 scandal, former immigration minister Andrew Giles embarked on a wave of ministerial revocations, cancelling 10 visas in May, 49 in June and 13 in July on character grounds.

New Home Affairs figures ­reveal there were fewer than five cancellations last November and December, and no revocations in any other month between July 2023 and August, with a total number of 77.

After stepping into the portfolios on July 28 following a ministerial reshuffle, Mr Burke failed to personally issue a single visa cancellation in August.

Government sources have contested this figure, arguing that Mr Burke, Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite and Assistant Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Julian Hill have cancelled 22 visas since the end of July.

Under a provision in the ­Migration Act, known as section 501, the minister has the power to refuse or cancel a visa if the applicant or holder has a criminal ­record or links to a criminal group.

Ahead of next year’s federal election in which migration and public safety will be key issues, Mr Burke declared that any non-citizen who broke the rules would be deported.

“The Australian visa system has rules,” he said. “If you’re granted a visa and you break those rules you can expect the visa to be cancelled.”

The number of visa decisions by a delegate of the minister or the now defunct Administrative ­Appeals Tribunals that were overturned by Mr Giles in the 2023-24 financial year jumped to 69, from none the year before, separate Home Affairs figures show. The minister overturned 12 tribunal or delegate decisions between July and September.

After The Australian revealed Mr Giles’ direction to grant foreign offenders with strong ties to the country greater tolerance in immigration proceedings had led to multiple offenders overturning their deportation, he revealed he had cancelled 40 visas in less than a fortnight.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the figures were concerning, calling on Mr Burke to explain why he had failed to use his powers to “protect the community”.

“Who would have thought ­Andrew Giles would be a tougher cop on the beat than Tony Burke?,” he said.

“The data doesn’t lie – Tony Burke is a soft touch when it comes to cancelling visas.”

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said the lack of cancellations would prompt the community to ask if Mr Burke is “prepared to make the tough decisions to keep Australians safe”.

Immigration lawyer Carina Ford said she disagreed with the Immigration Minister overruling the appeals tribunal, arguing that the AAT, which has been rebranded as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, was better placed to consider the matter in detail.

“I appreciate some Australians have a different view, but I don’t necessarily think this is a black-and-white issue, and I think it’s better left to tribunals to weigh up whether a person is a risk,” she said.

Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman and barrister Greg Barns said it was difficult to overturn a ministerial cancellation, which could only be repealed if a non-citizens lawyers successfully argued an error of law occurred.

“If a minister makes a decision, it’s reviewable in the Federal Court,” he said. “The Federal Court would only set aside that decision if there was an error of law.”

A report on the migration system released this month linked the increased number of ministerial decisions with increased public scrutiny over Direction 99, which prompted Mr Giles to replace the ministerial order with “strengthened” Direction 110.

“The increased number of decisions by the Minister in June 2024 continuing to September 30 2024 is a result of additional focus on ­decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal under previous Ministerial Direction 99,” the report said.

Overall, there were 1134 visa decisions based on character in 2023-24, including mandatory cancellations when a non-citizen is sentenced to more than a year in prison, visa cancellations and refusals from delegates and ministers, marking a rise from the previous year with 1123 decisions.

Between July and September there were 495 character decisions across the various categories.