“…….the Tribunal must act in a way that is fair and just” – section 357A(3) of the Migration Act. 

Section 357A is not simply an abstract, idealistic statement of the way that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is supposed to conduct merit reviews of Departmental decisions.  It is actually “prescriptive” of the Tribunal’s duties and obligations. 

But I would be willing to venture that if a “poll” were to be taken amongst RMAs, the results of the “ballot” would show that there are occasions where the Tribunal falls short of this requirement, and determines a matter in a way that is unfair and unjust.  

Warning Australia that it is straining the trans-Tasman ‘special relationship’ by deporting Kiwi born criminals, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has told Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, that  New Zealanders should not be treated this way.

"I was pretty blunt and I said there's a special relationship between New Zealand and Australia and you challenge that relationship to a degree when you see New Zealanders being treated in this way," he told Radio New Zealand. "They've often spent their entire life in Australia and went over there when they were very, very young," he said.

According to an ABC report, the man “accused of ripping off foreign students is continuing to run his operation despite facing 22 charges of fraud and misconduct.”

Kang has denied the charges including a claim of making death threats against a client. He told the ABC via email that in fact he provides full refunds to his clients after all appeals are exhausted. Kang has also reportedly sued the ABC for defamation.

A DIBP spokesperson told that ABC that it conducted extensive investigations into the alleged practices of Kang relating to migration advice and visa applications, which has included working with a number of Federal and State government agencies.

Despite all this, he now calls himself Ted Kang and operates under the business name Skylane, which is offering to help clients secure visas and jobs.

The ABC reports that for the first time a former employee has made new claims about Mr Kang and how his business operates, giving an insider account of how he believes Kang is misleading both his clients and the Department of Immigration.

The cancellation of visas on character grounds continues not only to prompt what appears to be a flood of litigation in the Federal courts, but also to attract attention in the media.

As a matter of fact, there was an article in yesterday’s (29 September) Sydney Morning Herald on this subject, “Raised in Australia, he’s among a wave of Kiwis held on Christmas Island as visas revoked”, which can be found by clicking on the link.

The article focuses on the story of a 29-year old man, Ricardo Young, who has lived in Australia since the time he was 4 years old, when he arrived with his parents from New Zealand. It says that Mr Young did all his schooling in Australia, played “lower grade rugby league”, and has a 5 year-old daughter and partner of 8 years in Sydney. The article also recounts that Mr Young served a two-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery and assault. On the morning that he was scheduled for release from prison, he was taken from the Silverwater Jail to the Villawood immigration detention centre. He was then taken to Christmas Island.

A subclass 485 visa holder who completed his Certificate III qualification in June 2013 has received a letter in the post from MITT which notifies him of the cancellation of his VET Qualification.  Please find a link below to a copy of the letter the 485 visa holder received in the post.   The personal identifiers have been removed to protect his identity:

VET-Mechanic-Automotive-III-cancellation-let.pdf

The Registered Migration Agent looking after this client has written the following email to MITT's CEO, Shereen Aboushady: