An 83-year-old British migrant convicted of sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl in Perth has had his Australian visa reinstated, prompting a leading abuse lawyer to demand he be deported. The man's permanent visa was automatically cancelled after he served a 14-month jail term, but the Administrative Review Tribunal restored it last year, ruling he had "very strong ties" to Australia and would face "significant impediments due to his ill health" if returned to the UK. The case has sparked public anger over whether Australia's deportation laws adequately protect children from convicted sex offenders.

The man, who cannot be legally identified, was jailed after a Perth court found he held down and molested the girl in the presence of another child, conduct the judge said involved "a degree of force or coercion." He had also faced a separate charge over the abuse of a young boy but was acquitted. Lawyer Andrew Carpenter criticised the tribunal's finding that the man did not pose an "unacceptable risk" to the community, while the mother of the boy in the acquitted case said she felt "completely betrayed" after being told ministers were not obliged to intervene despite her repeated appeals to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. Families of both alleged victims are now urging the Albanese government to overhaul the relevant ministerial direction and reverse the decision.