The Herald Sun has revealed, 164 foreign-born criminals have been spared from deportation by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Of those, 8 were killers, 17 were sex offenders, 33 were drug dealers, and 23 were armed robbers. Since 2013, the AAT has rescued 98 criminals who had their visas cancelled or not granted.

According to Adelaide Now, ministerial delegates argued the deportations were “necessary to protect Australians, and that almost all of those whom they wanted to kick out of the country had ‘substantial criminal records’.”

“Contrary to the past five years, the latest figures show the AAT is now overruling more visa decisions by delegates for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton than it is upholding. It reviewed 13,755 visa decisions by delegates in the past financial year, rejecting 5276 and affirming only 5110.”