Key visa cancellation statistics
The following graphs provide a graphical representation of visa cancellations for key cohorts under the
Migration Act 1958.
Character cancellations and refusals
More information about the
Australian character requirements for visas is available.
Character refusal or cancellation decisions will, as a consequence, lead to any undecided visa applications or visas held also being refused or cancelled. Consequential cancellation or refusal figures are not reflected in the following (character related) graphs.
Character cancellations and refusals since the 2012-13 financial year
This graph represents all character (section 501) cancellations and visa refusals over the last 10 financial years.
Between the 2013–14 and 2021–22 financial years, the number of visa cancellations on character grounds have increased significantly due to December 2014 legislative amendments to the
Migration Act 1958. These amendments introduced, among other things, a new mandatory cancellation provision under section 501(3A). See the
Explanatory Memorandum for these amendments.
Crime types for character cancellations over the last 12 months
This graph represents the number of character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021, grouped by crime type. For the purposes of this graph, only the primary offence category is shown; the field is therefore not exhaustive as non-citizens may have multiple offences/sentences recorded.
Character cancellations by state or territory over the last 12 months
This graph shows the number of character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 grouped by the Australian state/territory location of the visa holder at the time of cancellation consideration.
Top 10 nationalities featured in character cancellations over the last 12 months
This graph represents character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 grouped by nationality.
Revocation outcomes for character cancellations over the last 12 months
A non-citizen whose visa is mandatorily cancelled can seek to have the cancellation decision revoked. This graph represents the number of finalised revocation requests from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021.
A ‘Revoked’ outcome results in a visa being reinstated, whereas a ‘Not Revoked’ outcome upholds the original cancellation decision.
Student visa cancellations across all cancellation powers – past 10 financial years
The student visa cancellation numbers in the graph below broadly follow trends related to the number of international students in Australia during these financial years. The increase in offshore cancellations through 2014-15 and 2015-16 coincides with a new business model deployed by the Department to reduce the timeframe for cancellation decisions. The total cancellation numbers in 2020-21 have decreased as a result of the impact related to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Further Information
