Novak Djokovic appeals in court against cancellation of Australian visa – live updates

The court has temporarily adjourned. I think dealing with more technical issues.

Justice Anthony Kelly notes the requirement to provide evidence would have been required by the parliament – either by regulation or legislation – if that was intended, and he notes that there are 30 penalty units under the Biosecurity Act for contravention – i.e. misleading on declarations, which would act as a deterrent.

30 penalty units is about $5,500.

Incidentally, Kelly also tells Djokovic’s counsel they won’t need to ask for more time for oral submissions until about 1.45pm AEST. Which is about three hours after they have been talking. We’d need to hear from the government counsel after that. The hearing was originally scheduled to go to 3pm.

Wood says under the requirements on the visa application, Djokovic made a declaration of the medical exemption from vaccination as he was required to and was not required to provide the evidence for that medical exemption. He said it was patently false to suggest the medical evidence was required.

But he notes that Djokovic ultimately did provide that evidence.

Djokovic’s lawyers are arguing to the court that on the first ground of the cancellation of his visa, the notice of the intention to cancel his visa was “defective”, in part because it was relied on a “mash-up” of grounds required to cancel the visa.

I have a live stream up and running now. Updates coming soon.

A spokesperson for the court says the hearing is going ahead, but the live stream is still down:

I am now advised the hearing has started. The court is working to rectify the situation. Apologies.

Still waiting on the live broadcast. I received a service error a short time ago. I am hoping this means they are fixing it.

My colleague Cait Kelly on the ground outside the Park Hotel where Novak Djokovic is being held, along with over 30 asylum seekers who have been there for much longer.

And we are struggling to get the live feed to work. Standby.

The hearing will be getting underway in about five minutes. I am eagerly refreshing the live feed and hoping it holds out.

At the moment, the 34-year-old tennis number one is being held at a quarantine hotel called Park Hotel in Melbourne’s north.

In that hotel are over 30 asylum seekers who were transferred to Australia from our offshore detention system for medical treatment a few years ago. The men have been held in Australia’s immigration detention system for around nine years.

Protesters in support of the asylum seekers have been holding vigils outside of the hotel in the past few days hoping to bring attention to the plight of the asylum seekers, given the massive global focus on Djokovic.

The ABC showed footage earlier this morning of some of the protesters being arrested by police, but it is unclear what for.

My colleague Cait Kelly is on the ground outside the hotel, so we will hopefully have some updates soon.

You can find the submissions for the various parties online here.

Here’s a summary of what Novak Djokovic is claiming in court about why he believes the government made an error in cancelling his visa:

• The Institute of Public Health in Serbia recorded Djokovic was Covid-19 positive on 16 December, and this positive test result formed the basis of the medical exemption he received from Tennis Australia and the Victorian government on 30 December.
• Djokovic argues he relies on the advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations, which said vaccination can be deferred for up to six months due to a Covid-19 infection.
• He argues, therefore, it is illogical that the government now argues that recent Covid-19 infection is not a grounds for medical exemption from vaccination.
• He is also arguing he was denied procedural fairness in not being given more time between given the notice of the intent to cancel his visa at 4am on 6 January, and when it was cancelled at 7.42am. He wanted to wait until he could speak to his lawyers at 8am.

The government has argued:

• That granting such a wait would amount to a procedural filibuster given Djokovic had given a response about his application during the interviews in the morning.
• The Atagi advice on vaccination exemption needs to be read with a December guide on vaccination put out by Atagi which states that people are able to be vaccinated against Covid-19 after recovering from acute major medical illness from Covid-19, and says “the evidence is that the applicant has recovered”.
• If the court grants Djokovic a win, the government could once again cancel his visa and detain him.

Good morning from Melbourne, and welcome to our live blog of tennis number one Novak Djokovic’s appeal in court against the cancellation of his Australian visa ahead of the Australian Open.

I’m Josh Taylor and I will be bringing you all the updates from the court live stream.

The hearing will kick off at 10am AEST in Melbourne, which is 11pm GMT or 6pm EST.

You can read our most recent stories on the submissions to the court from Djokovic’s lawyers and the federal government while you are waiting, but I will be going through those in more detail in a minute.

If you want to watch the live stream yourself, you will be able to view it here, but a reminder that recording, photography or broadcasting of the hearing is not permitted.

Late on Sunday the court issued a new link, meaning it will be view-only for the public, thereby avoiding the mess of every participant being able to use their camera and microphone, which would have made the hearing a disaster.