A man who claimed he would become destitute if sent back to his country after his visa was cancelled over beating up his wife in front of his young grandchildren will be deported from Australia.
60-year-old Fijian national Shamsher Ali came to Australia in 1988 when he was 29. His permanent visa was cancelled over his “substantial criminal record” including domestic violence offences after he was ordered to serve a nine-month jail term in 2017.
Mr Ali had already been convicted a number of times for criminal offences, including in March 2010 when he assaulted his wife and he had been given a 12-month suspended sentence on entering good behavior bond.
In April 2017, he perpetrated a serious act of domestic violence against his wife, leaving her with facial injuries and the police were called. He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment and his Resident Return Visa was cancelled in June 2017 on character grounds while he was still in jail.
Mr Ali sought to get the visa cancellation overturned, first by the Minister of Home Affairs and then the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
However, the Tribunal said the Australian community would be better served if Mr Ali’s visa remained cancelled and that he was likely to offend again.
“A man who beats his wife in front of one of his grandchildren, has been before the courts on some seven occasions for assaulting people, has been sentenced to three separate terms of imprisonment, has an appalling driving record which evidences a complete contempt for laws of Australia and blames his wife for her own victimhood, should not be the holder of an Australian visa,” the Tribunal said.
Mr Ali has been unable to work since 2009 after suffering a work-related injury and is being cared for by his partner in recent years. He said due to his injury, he wouldn’t be able to secure employment in Fiji.
While his appeal was still being heard by the AAT, Mr Ali said if he were to be removed from Australia, he would have to sell his four-bedroom house in western Sydney and that his family would have nowhere to live. The Tribunal observed the proceeds from the sale would be sufficient for him to live comfortably in Fiji.
After he failed to have his visa cancellation revoked at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Circuit Court, Mr Ali told the Federal Court of Australia that he would face a “real risk of destitution” if returned to Fiji. He also claimed that cancelling his visa on the grounds of a substantial criminal record was wrong since he had not served jail term of 12 months or more.
However, the court found that the submission was “misconceived” and dismissed the appeal with costs.
