Controversial US commentator Candace Owens has lost her fight to overturn a visa ban, with the High Court ruling the government acted lawfully in blocking her entry.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke refused Owens’ visa in October 2024, saying he ‘reasonably suspected’ she failed the character test and could ‘incite discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community.’
‘Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else,’ Burke said at the time, citing her ‘controversial and conspiratorial views.’
The decision had bipartisan backing, with Liberal immigration spokesman Dan Tehan also supporting the ban.
On Wednesday, the High Court unanimously upheld Burke’s decision, rejecting Owens’ argument that the refusal breached Australia’s implied freedom of political communication.
The court found the ban valid and ordered Owens, 36, to pay the Commonwealth’s legal costs.
Officials pointed to Owens’ comments on Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQI communities and her use of online platforms to amplify divisive rhetoric.
Court documents claimed she had downplayed the Holocaust and that Muslims started slavery.
Commentator Candace Owens (pictured) has been banned from entering Australia
The Commonwealth argued her entry could encourage extremist behaviour, vilify communities or even spark civil unrest.
Ms Owens’ lawyers argued the character test on which visa decisions are made was more likely to exclude non-mainstream political views just by saying they sparked division.
Perry Herzfeld SC contended the threshold of ‘inciting discord’ to reject a visa was so broad it could take in anyone engaged in debate.
He argued that basing exclusion on character grounds risked banning anyone ‘the minister doesn’t like.’
Legal provisions saying a person could not attack Australian values were equally broad, he argued, saying the spectrum of what was a mainstream view changed over time.
He pointed to the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
However, the High Court held the visa refusal was justified and did not infringe on the implied freedom of political communication.
Court documents pointed to her being named in the manifesto of the man who claimed responsibility for a massacre at two New Zealand mosques.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Owens (pictured) risked ‘inciting discord’ in Australia
The ‘incite discord’ threshold to reject a visa on character grounds was intended to cover the more serious end of the spectrum, Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue KC told the High Court during the May hearing.
With more than 4.2 million YouTube subscribers and 5.7 million Instagram followers, authorities warned her influence could amplify division.
Owens sparked controversy last year with her claim that Brigitte Macron, the wife of French president Emmanuel Macron, was born male.
She also departed her role with the Daily Wire website after co-founder Ben Shapiro objected to her criticisms of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and call for the US to stop funding Israel’s military.
Daily Mail has contacted Candace Owens for comment.
