Novak Djokovic wins Australian visa appeal
Rebecca Falconer
Rebecca Falconer
Members of the local Serbian community rally outside a government detention centre where Serbia's tennis champion Novak Djokovic is staying in Melbourne on January 9.
Members of the local Serbian community on Sunday rally outside a government detention center where Serbia's tennis champion Novak Djokovic had been in quarantine in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: William West/AFP via Getty Images
Novak Djokovic's Australian visa cancellation was overturned Monday by a judge on the country's federal circuit court, who ordered the Serbian tennis star's release from immigration detention.
Why it matters: The ruling enables the men's tennis world No. 1 to stay in the country and defend his Australian Open title, after he was last week denied entry to the country by border officials who canceled his visa over his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Djokovic is seeking to achieve a record 21st Grand Slam win when the tournament begins on Jan. 17.
Yes, but: He could still face deportation if Australia's immigration minister decides to cancel the 34-year-old's visa for a second time.
Christopher Tan, a lawyer for the Australian government, told the court in Melbourne following Judge Anthony Kelly's ruling that the minister, Alex Hawke, "will consider whether to exercise a personal power of cancelation."
Driving the news: In his ruling, which was broadcast online by the court, Kelly read out a minute agreed to by Djokovic and the Australian government that the tennis player be released from detention within 30 minutes of the order.
Kelly said the decision to cancel Djokovic's visa was "unreasonable" because the player had been told at 5:20a.m. last Thursday that he had until 8:30a.m. to respond to officials.
The government must pay the costs of Djokovic, whom Kelly had earlier permitted to leave the Melbourne hotel detention facility in which he had been placed in order to attend his hearing.
The judge also ordered the return of Djokovic's passport and personal belongings.
What they're saying: Kelly said at Monday's hearing that he was "somewhat agitated" over Djokovic's treatment by border officials, adding: "What more could this man have done?"
Flashback: Border officials said when they canceled Djokovic's visa last week that he failed to provide "appropriate evidence" for his medical exemption from Australia's COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
Lawyers for Djokovic, argued that the tennis star could play in the Australian Open because he had tested positive for the virus in December and had received the exemption.
Of note: Djokovic has said previously that he's opposed to travel vaccination orders, but he'd never publicly revealed whether he'd been inoculated against COVID-19.
But a transcript of his interview with Australian Border Force officials released by the court on Monday reveals that Djokovic told them he's "not vaccinated" and that he had twice tested positive for the coronavirus — once in June 2020 and again last December.
What to watch: If Hawke decides to cancel Djokovic's visa again, the player could the decision. But the minister's powers are "extremely broad and discretionary," making such a challenge difficult to achieve, Melbourne's The Age notes.
Djokovic would be prohibited from re-entering Australia for three years if Hawke uses these powers.
