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In a major development, Novak Djokovic's visa has been cancelled by the Australian government. Australia's immigration minister Alex Hawke made on the decision, which will cast further doubt over Djokovic's participation in the first grand slam of the year. The World no.1 Tennis player had previously won his court appeal against the cancellation of his visa but the Australian government has said that it would continue to explore ways to deport him.
This means that Djokovic will now be banned from Australia for three years as the cancelletion issued by Hawke is classified as an adverse decision under section 133C(3), which means Djokovic cannot be granted another visa while offshore for the three years. There are exceptions granted in “certain circumstances,” and the Serbian star might look to appeal against the decision.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke mentioned in the statement that he “carefully considered” information provided to him. "Today I exercised my power under section 133C (3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so," Hawke said in a statement.
"This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds. In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic. The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement further read.
Check out the official statement here:
