The Albanese government’s policy framework known as Direction 110 has faced criticism amid concerns that it has allowed a significant number of serious criminal offenders to remain in Australia despite visa cancellations. Since its introduction in June 2024, the policy has resulted in the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) overturning visa cancellations in more than half of the cases reviewed, raising questions about the balance between community safety and legal protections for non-citizens.

Direction 110 replaced the previous Direction 99, which had been introduced during the former Labor government and saw a higher overturn rate of visa cancellations. Under Direction 110, 54 percent of visa cancellations challenged at the ART have been set aside, compared with 68 percent under Direction 99 and 39 percent in the final year of the preceding Coalition government.

The issue gained renewed public attention following revelations regarding a Congolese man, identified by the initials JKWL, who has been allowed to remain in Australia despite a history of serious sexual offences, including attacks on his then-13-year-old daughter. The ART ruled in March that deporting him to Nauru would cause “very grave” harm due to his history of psychiatric disorders and risks of severe mental deterioration without adequate support. At the time of the tribunal’s decision, JKWL was free in the community under strict visa conditions and subject to sex offender legislation. His children were placed in state care because of the impact of his offenses, with no close relatives available locally.

JKWL is one of several high-profile cases in which the ART has declined to uphold cancellation decisions. Others include a New Zealand national who retained his visa despite being identified as a repeat and “sadistic” child abuser, and Sehwhy Niope, a Liberian convicted on drug importation charges, whose visa was reinstated in July. Additional cases involve individuals convicted of violent offenses, such as Mabor Ater Bol, who caused permanent brain damage to his victim in an assault, and BCQR, linked to a fatal stabbing during a mob ambush.

Legal experts and opposition figures trace part of the challenge to the 2023 High Court NZYQ ruling, which held that the indefinite detention of non-citizens with cancelled visas—where deportation is not feasible—was unlawful. This decision limits government recourse for managing some non-citizen offenders, complicating enforcement actions under character cancellation policies.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has defended the existing procedures, stating that most visa cancellations initiated by his department under Direction 110 are upheld on appeal. Nonetheless, opposition calls have intensified for more stringent guidance to the ART to prioritize public safety and reduce the rate of overturned cancellations.

Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam has criticized the current framework as inadequate, asserting that it fails to protect the Australian community and calling for urgent reforms to the character cancellation system. The issue highlights ongoing tensions between legal safeguards for non-citizens and efforts to address serious criminal conduct within Australia’s immigration framework.