Australian authorities have once again cancelled the visa of Tennis star Novak Djokovic just days before the start of the Australian Open.
On Friday, the Australian immigration minister, Alex Hawke, exercised a personal power to cancel Djokovic’s visa, likely to result in the world No 1’s deportation and putting him out of contention for the grand slam tournament barring an against-the-odds court victory.
The decision means that Djokovic could be effectively barred from re-entering Australia for three years unless he can show in future bids that compelling circumstances exist, such as compassionate or Australian national interest grounds.
In a statement Hawke said he cancelled the visa “on health and good order grounds, [and] on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so”.
Hawke brushed off the Australian government’s loss in court on Monday, indicating Djokovic had his visa restored only on “procedural fairness grounds”.
Hawke said he had “carefully considered information provided” by Djokovic, his department, and the Australian Border Force.
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Djokovic arrived in Australia on the evening of 5 January. He believed that a visa granted on 18 November and an exemption approved by Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer and a Victorian government independent expert panel would be sufficient to enter Australia.
After late-night questioning at Melbourne airport, Djokovic’s visa was initially cancelled by a delegate of the home affairs minister last Thursday, on the basis a recent Covid infection by itself was not sufficient for an exemption from Australia’s strict vaccination requirements.
The delegate concluded that, since he was unvaccinated, Djokovic posed a risk to public health.
But on Monday, a federal circuit court judge restored Djokovic’s visa, concluding it was unreasonable for the Australian Border Force to renege on a deal to give him more time at the airport to address the exemption issue.
Government lawyers immediately put the world No 1 on notice that the immigration minister could still exercise a personal power to again cancel the visa.
Djokovic faced a nervous wait, with questions about his travel in the fortnight before arriving in Australia and attendance at events after his positive Covid diagnosis of 16 December. Der Spiegel also claimed anomalies suggested the positive result could have been negative or dated 26 December.
On Wednesday, Djokovic conceded his agent made an “administrative mistake” when declaring he had not travelled in the two weeks before his flight to Australia and acknowledged an “error of judgment” by not isolating after he tested positive for Covid.
The fresh decision to cancel the visa likely leaves the Australian Open without one of its biggest stars and Djokovic is now unlikely to defend his title Down Under.