Novak Djokovic will be deported from Australia and will not take part in the Australian Open after his lawyers failed to convince three senior judges of his right to stay in Melbourne.
Chief Justice James Allsop, Justice Anthony Besanko and Justice David O’Callaghan unanimously decided Djokovic did not have grounds to dispute Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s deportation order.
Mr Hawke wielded his discretionary power on Friday afternoon to cancel the world number one’s visa and deport him, despite a court ruling last week in his favour, after the government’s lawyers argued he’d become an ‘icon’ for anti-vaxxers.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ in the outcome of the case, but that he ‘respected’ the court’s decision and would co-operate with authorities.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke meanwhile said he ‘welcomed’ the court’s decision to ‘exercise my power to cancel Mr Djokovic’s visa in the public interest’.
Chief Justice James Allsop made clear Djokovic could not launch an official appeal against Mr Hawke’s decision. Instead, he had the opportunity to have the judges review the order based on its merit and lawfulness.
Djokovic as a result is likely to be forced on to a plane and deported from Australia within hours and will also have to cover the costs of all legal fees in the case.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa was made ‘on health, safety and good order grounds. Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected.’
Novak Djokovic will be deported from Australia and will not take part in the Australian Open after his lawyers failed to convince three senior judges of his right to stay in Melbourne (Djokovic pictured November 2021)
Djokovic was briefly permitted to leave his detention hotel to view the court case from his lawyer’s office earlier today, but will now be forced onto a plane and swiftly deported
Supporters of tennis star Novak Djokovic wait outside Federal Court of Australia as Novak Djokovic loses chance to play at Australian Open as Australian court dismisses his appeal against deportation order in Melbourne, Australia on January 16, 2022
Novak Djokovic’s high-powered legal team, led by Nick Wood in the centre, have lost in their attempt to have the tennis ace play in the Australian Open
Djokovic released a statement minutes after the ruling was handed down this morning, acknowledging his disappointment with the outcome, which will prevent him from competing in his favourite Grand Slam where he has been victorious a stellar nine times (pictured Feb 2021)
The world No.1 was required to prove to the court that Mr Hawke acted irrationally or legally unreasonably in choosing to use his discretionary powers.
Full reasons for the decision will be released in the coming days.
Djokovic released a statement minutes after the ruling was handed down this morning, acknowledging his disappointment with the outcome, which will prevent him from competing in his favourite Grand Slam where he has been victorious a stellar nine times.
‘I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the Minister’s decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open.
‘I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country.
The Serb also thanked his family, friends, fans and fellow countrymen for their unwavering support throughout his legal proceedings.
Justice Allsop earlier said he accepted Djokovic could be seen as ‘an iconic sports star that is setting an example that is not ideal to be followed’.
‘If Mr Djokovic won the Open, as he has in the past, there is an example embedded in the Minister’s reasoning that this is an example for young and not so young fans of tennis.’
The government did not indicate whether they would take up the option to prevent Djokovic from applying for a visa to enter Australia for the next three years.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said: ‘I welcome today’s unanimous decision by the Full Federal Court of Australia, upholding my decision to exercise my power under the Migration Act to cancel Mr Novak Djokovic’s visa in the public interest.’
Djokovic will be deported after failing to overturn Minister Hawke’s decision to cancel his visa (the tennis star is pictured with his wife Jelena)
Goran Ivanisevic, the coach for Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, sitting in a van, leaves the lawyer’s office after the disappointing court outcome for his team
Victoria Premier Dan Andrews (pictured) said he hoped the ongoing visa saga wouldn’t take away from Melbourne’s 2022 Australian Open, before declaring: ‘This tournament, this Grand Slam tournament – one of the big four – is much bigger than any one person. It’s very simple, just get vaccinated. And then everyone’s time wouldn’t have to be wasted with this.’
More than 83,000 people were tuned in to the Federal Court livestream of the proceedings by 11am to watch the showdown.
Responding to Djokovic’s argument deporting him would cause havoc – with riots and protests expected in the streets of Melbourne – lawyers for the government said they would not be deterred based on the fear of public backlash.
They insist he poses an ‘overwhelming risk’ to the Australian public – demonstrated by his decision to ignore safety measures in his home country and attend work obligations while knowingly infected with Covid-19.
‘The Commonwealth should not be bound to suffer the presence of an alien for fear of what might happen if they were removed,’ Stephen Lloyd, for the Minister, said on Sunday afternoon.
‘Rightly or wrongly, he is perceived to endorse an anti-vaccination view.’
He noted vaccination rates in Djokovic’s home country of Serbia were significantly lower than in Australia, indicating the tennis star was a ‘talisman’ of anti-vax sentiment.
While Australia has a vaccination rate of 92.5 per cent, less than half of all eligible Serbians are double-jabbed.
Mr Lloyd argued this demonstrated the Minister’s belief that Djokovic could be seen to influence his fans based on his own perceived stance on vaccines and ‘may foster anti-vaccination sentiment in Australia’.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews offered a cutting remark towards Djokovic in the aftermath of the decision.
‘This tournament, this Grand Slam tournament – one of the big four – is much bigger than any one person,’ he said.
‘It’s very simple, just get vaccinated. And then everyone’s time wouldn’t have to be wasted with this.’
Djokovic’s high-powered legal team, led by Nick Wood SC, took issue with Mr Hawke’s reasoning for cancelling the visa, which was primarily a result of his decision not to get vaccinated against Covid.
They rebuffed statements Djokovic has ‘a well-known stance on vaccination’.
Mr Wood argued comments the tennis star made about vaccines in April 2020 which have been used to justify the Minister’s decision are not necessarily relevant.
They say Djokovic insisted he was ‘not an expert’ and would do what was best for his body, after indicating he wouldn’t want to be ‘forced’ to take a Covid vaccine well before a jab to protect against the virus had even been developed.
The Minister, the court heard, never asked Djokovic to confirm his present stance on vaccination and has not publicly aligned himself with either side of the argument.
‘The minister is not permitted to cancel a visa based on an evidence-free figment of his imagination,’ Mr Wood said.
As a result of the decision, Djokovic is likely to be forced on to a plane and deported from Australia within hours and will also have to cover the costs of all legal fees in the case (Djokovic pictured leaving the Park Hotel government detention facility this morning)
Mr Wood, during his lengthy submissions this morning, failed to build his argument that Mr Hawke acted irrationally in cancelling his client’s visa
Responding to Djokovic’s argument deporting him would cause havoc – with riots and protests expected in the streets of Melbourne – lawyers for the government said they would not be deterred based on the fear of public backlash
This black car, which many fans were convinced was taking Djokovic away from his lawyer’s office on Monday night, was quickly surrounded as police tried to keep them back
There were jubilant scenes on the streets on Melbourne on Monday night after Novak Djokovic was freed from immigration detention
But Mr Lloyd argued Djokovic’s personal or private thoughts mean very little given the way he is perceived by the Australian public.
‘People use high level athletes to promote ideas and causes all the time,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying this is advertising but his connection to a cause – whether he wants it or not – is still present.
‘His presence in Australia was seen to pose an overwhelming risk and that is what has motivated the Minister.’
He also cited Djokovic’s history of breaching public health orders.
By his own admission, Djokovic failed to heed the advice of his own government after testing positive to Covid, meeting with a journalist and posing for a photo without his mask just days after returning a positive test.
‘The applicant has a history of ignoring safety measures,’ Mr Lloyd said.
‘When he was infected he undertook an interview and a photo shoot [with L’Equipe] which included taking his mask off and the minister took the view his presence in Australia would encourage people to emulate his apparent disregard for those kinds of safety measures.’
The Immigration Minister cited potential unrest, rallies and protests as part of his reasoning for cancelling Djokovic’s visa again. On Sunday, fans slowly began arriving outside his lawyer’s office and the Federal Court awaiting the outcome of his court case
Serbian fans of Djokovic are slowly building outside the Federal Court of Australia as his lawyers argue his right to stay in Melbourne and compete in the Australian Open
Chief Justice Allsop appeared to swing toward the government’s argument, telling Mr Wood the Minister has the power to draw on ‘rational and reasonable use of perception and common sense’ in determining Djokovic’s views.
In court documents filed late on Saturday, the Minister argued his decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa had little to do with concern about him infecting others with Covid.
Instead, he said Djokovic’s conduct and ‘position on vaccination… may encourage others to emulate him by reason of his high profile and status’.
‘If others were encouraged to take up or maintain resistance to vaccination or to COVID-19 restrictions, then that would present a problem for the health of individuals and the operation of Australia’s hospital system,’ court documents state.
The government’s legal team states the above reasons fall ‘comfortably’ within the Minister’s jurisdiction to exercise his power to cancel a visa.
The onus was on Djokovic’s legal team to prove the decision was not rational, logical or legal. They cannot simply argue that the ‘better’ decision would be to allow him to stay.
Mr Wood, during his lengthy submissions this morning, failed to build his argument that Mr Hawke acted irrationally in cancelling his client’s visa.
He attempted to argue Mr Hawke did not consider the ramifications of deportation.
‘It was irrational, your honours, for the Minister to only contemplate the prospect of the fostering of anti vax sentiment that might accrue from Mr Djokovic playing tennis, in other words being present, and yet not consider the binary alternative, which was the prospect of anti vax sentiment being fostered by… coercive state action,’ Mr Wood said.
‘It is somewhat perverse to adopt such a narrow focal point or lens.’
Mr Wood said the only evidence tying Djokovic to anti-vax activists came about after the initial decision to cancel his visa and when he was detained in the immigration hotel.
‘If he hadn’t have been cancelled, those people who were galvanised by coercive state action… there’s no logical connection that those same people would turn up and chant just because he plays tennis.
‘The anti-vax protests have been directed to action by the state… action by the state perceived to have some coercive effect… Evidence suggests that was the only trigger.’
But Mr Lloyd swiftly rebutted, arguing the Minister did consider all options and knew there would be dissatisfaction with whichever decision he made.
Djokovic will be released from immigration detention only to board a flight back to his home country of Serbia, where fans have already taken to the streets in protest over his treatment in Australia.
Many are of the impression he was ‘lured’ here only to be humiliated.
Fans also stormed the streets of Melbourne after the initial court case, and it is anticipated they will do the same today.
The outcome of the hearing is also bad news for Tennis Australia, who will have to swiftly rejig the competition draw within hours to accommodate for one less player.
The key reasons behind Novak Djokovic’s (pictured with wife Jelena) visa cancellation have been revealed with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke saying his presence in Australia may ‘foster anti-vaccination sentiment’
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