The Administrative Review Tribunal of Australia was told that the woman, who was born in New Zealand, was a ward of state before she was a year old, but was returned to her violent and alcoholic father at the age of 5.
At the age of 7, she was sexually abused by a person known to the family.
The woman, whose name is suppressed, moved to Australia with her first partner and their three children in 2006 and has not returned to New Zealand.
Her three oldest children are now adults and live independently.
When the couple separated, the woman began a relationship with another man, who had gang ties and who has since died.
With that partner, the woman had children who are currently aged 11, 9 and 7 and were placed in the care of a grandparent when she was charged with the robbery.
‘Horrific’ domestic violence
The tribunal was told the woman experienced “horrific” domestic violence from her second partner, and that she and the children were homeless at times.
When she was sentenced, the court was told the woman had PTSD from her childhood abuse and the violence in her relationships.
She also had symptoms of depression and anxiety, and her drug abuse was partly to numb memories of past trauma, emotional disconnection, feelings of hopelessness, sleep disturbance, difficulty concentrating, irritability and “reckless and self-destructive behaviour”.
In 2019, the woman helped a co-offender plan an armed robbery at her former workplace.
She allowed the co-offender to use her car to drive to the place being robbed, and shared in the financial proceeds.
The woman was not directly involved in the execution of the crime itself, but the tribunal said it was satisfied it was a “serious armed robbery”.
It involved a forced entry, use of a firearm or imitation firearm, and direct confrontation with two staff members.
However, the tribunal said the woman had no criminal history, and did not reoffend during the four years she was on bail before being sent to prison.
The tribunal also accepted that the woman had undergone “intense” rehabilitation to address her mental health and addiction issues involving methamphetamine and cannabis.
“The tribunal accepts the evidence of the applicant that she has overcome her drug addiction and is committed to remaining drug-free,” tribunal senior member Margaret Bourke said.
Bourke said that deportation would cause “hardship and emotional harm” to all of the woman’s children, not just the three who were still minors and Australian citizens.
The younger children have visited the woman fortnightly while she has been in prison.
“The tribunal accepts that the three children love and miss their mother ... when the applicant is able, and has proven she is capable, they plan that the three children will live with her again,” Bourke said.
The woman also feared if she was sent back to New Zealand, she would be harmed by her co-offender in the robbery, who has already been deported, and members of the gang with which her second partner was affiliated.
The tribunal found the woman failed the “character test” under Section 501 of the Australian Migration Act - the legal provision that gave its name to the thousands of New Zealanders who have been deported, who are known as “501s”.
However, Bourke found the combined weight of the younger children’s interests, along with the strength and nature of the woman’s ties to Australia, weighed in favour of revoking the cancellation of her visa.
“The tribunal has assessed that the applicant has strong family and social ties to the Australian community and there are three minor children whose best interests would be affected by the decision to cancel the applicant’s visa,” the decision said.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
