Documents Relating To The Interaction Between Criminal Sentencing Outcomes And Immigration Consequences, Including Visa Cancellation, Detention And Removal (1 January 2020 - 21 December 2025) Part 1…

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The Department of Home Affairs released internal guidance on interpreting criminal history and its immigration consequences between January 2020 and December 2025. The document outlines character test failure criteria under Migration Act section 501, specifying that non-citizens fail on objective grounds including sentences of 12 months or more imprisonment (s7(c)) or multiple sentences totalling 12 months or more (s7(d)), as well as convictions for child sexual abuse offences (s6(e)). The guidance clarifies which custodial penalties qualify as "terms of imprisonment" for character assessment purposes, including intensive correction orders, suspended sentences, and periodic detention, while excluding bonds, community corrections orders, and conditional release arrangements. A significant interpretive principle—the MAKASA/XJLR ruling—establishes that offending previously considered during visa cancellation proceedings cannot be reconsidered, though subsequent new offences may trigger fresh character failures warranting visa revocation or cancellation.