Given the increase in the number of student visa cancellations in recent months, the message from the department of immigration to student visa applicants and visa holders seems to be that although visas are granted quickly they are also likely to be cancelled easily.
In the seven months to March of this year, some 9000 student visas have been cancelled by the DIBP, according to a recent report in The Australian. Compared to two years ago where the figures stood at between 8000 to 9000 cancellations, it is looking like student visa cancellations could hit 15,000 this year.
Student visas may be cancelled on various grounds, including plagiarism. The Australian’s report highlighted the case of Shaheryar Khan, who had his visa cancelled because he was reported to have copied a number of his assessments directly from internet sources without attribution.
According to the report, Mr Khan who sought a review of DIBPs decision at the AAT, blamed his school Technical Education Development Instituted (TEDI) for “not advising students on how to source information from an online source or provide information about different referencing styles required for assignments…, [and] said he had been encouraged to find the answers to assignment questions on the internet.”
In his decision, Tribunal member Stuart Webb acknowledged that TEDI could have done better, stating “The tribunal is not aware of any warning provided the applicant about his conduct in completing assignments in the manner that he has,” adding “His plagiarised answers were not identified or corrected on the assignment copies as seen by the tribunal.”
However, Mr Webb affirmed the delegate’s decision and rejected Mr Khan’s claim that “he was unaware of plagiarism because he came from Pakistan.”