New Zealand men with criminal convictions deported from Australia and sent home

A total of 30 New Zealand men, all with criminal convictions, have been deported from Australia, news.com.au reported.

All of the men have been convicted of a number of serious criminal activities, including domestic violence against minors, assault and drug-related offenses, aggravated robbery, and stalking and intimidation.

The two charter flights departed on August 25 and 26 from Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.

Australian Border Force Field Operations Commander Ben Biddington said in a statement released to the media that non-citizens who did not meet character requirements and had their visas canceled could not stay in the country.

“The Australian government is responsible for protecting the community from the risk of harm arising from foreign nationals who choose to engage in criminal activity. Most of those expelled had their visas canceled in accordance with s501 of the Law of Migration, “Commander Biddington said.

“Since the mandatory visa cancellation rules were tightened in December 2014, a total of 2,926 New Zealand citizens have had their visas canceled under section 501 of the Migration Act.”

Under the law, the Australian Home Affairs Minister can cancel a visa if a person is deemed to be “not of good character”.

A person can fail the character test for a number of reasons, including circumstances where a non-citizen has a substantial criminal record.