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Tribunal: Member D Triaca  

The applicant applied for review of a decision of the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) to cancel his student visa. The Department cancelled the visa on the basis that the applicant breached his visa conditions by not being enrolled in a registered course.[1]

In making this decision, the Department relied on the information recorded on the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS). This system is used to record student enrolment records and information. It is used by certain Australian Government agencies to monitor student compliance with visa conditions and provider compliance with the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act). The Department relied on the PRISMS records to find the applicant had ‘not completed any registered course for which he had been enrolled in’ since his arrival in Australia in 2015.

However, due to an error in the system the applicant’s full study history was not recorded on PRISMS. At the hearing, the applicant provided the AAT with copies of his academic records, including a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery dated 2017, and a Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery dated 2018. The applicant stated that he initially wanted to enroll in an IT course however was unable to do so without financial support. Instead, he enrolled in hospitality courses because they had lower fees. The applicant said he was planning to study a Bachelor of Hospitality but could not do so without a student visa.

The AAT found the applicant was enrolled in a registered course and complied with the conditions of his student visa.

The AAT set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision not to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa.

Read the full decision on AustLII.

 

[1] Schedule 8 Condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994