SYDNEY — Far-right American political commentator and influencer Candace Owens has lost her legal challenge against the Australian government after the country’s High Court upheld a decision to deny her a visitor visa over concerns that her presence could “incite discord” within the Australian community.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, confirmed that the Australian government acted lawfully when it blocked Owens’s entry last year, citing her public statements downplaying the Holocaust, spreading Islamophobic rhetoric, and making inflammatory remarks about minority communities.
The court found that Owens failed to demonstrate that the refusal breached any constitutional protections, ordering her to pay the government’s legal costs.
High Court Upholds Visa Ban
In a unanimous judgment, the High Court ruled that Australia’s Migration Act was correctly applied in Owens’s case. The specific provision allows the government to refuse a visa if there is a risk that a person’s presence “would stir up or encourage dissension or strife” among Australian citizens or within particular communities.
The court emphasized that the Home Affairs Minister’s decision in 2024 to deny Owens entry was based on legitimate national security and public interest considerations.
“The government’s decision to refuse Ms. Owens’s visa was not invalid,” the judgment read, confirming that the minister’s application of the law was appropriate and proportionate.
Government Cited Extremist and Offensive Remarks
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had previously rejected Owens’s visa application in October 2024, invoking the “character test” under the Migration Act. The minister warned that Owens’s controversial rhetoric — particularly her statements minimizing Nazi atrocities and making derogatory claims about Muslims — posed a risk of “increased hostility and violent or radical action.”
Burke specifically referenced Owens’s comments comparing the Holocaust to political narratives and her claim that “Muslims started slavery,” statements he said demonstrated a capacity to incite hatred.
“From downplaying the Holocaust with comments about Mengele to false claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” Burke said at the time, according to The Herald Sun.
Owens’s Legal Argument Rejected
Owens, a right-wing media personality and podcast host, filed an appeal arguing that the government’s decision infringed on her implied right to freedom of political communication.
However, Australia — unlike the United States — does not guarantee free speech as an absolute constitutional right.
In their joint judgment, Justices Stephen Gageler, Michelle Gordon, and Robert Beech-Jones clarified that while political communication enjoys limited constitutional protection, it “is not a personal right, is not unlimited, and is not absolute.”
The judges found that Owens’s past public statements on race, religion, gender, vaccination, and LGBTQ+ issues were inflammatory and inconsistent with Australian community standards.
“Ms. Owens’s submissions should be emphatically rejected,” wrote Justice James Edelman in a separate opinion.
Pattern of Visa Refusals for Controversial Figures
Owens’s visa denial follows a growing trend in which Australia has barred or cancelled visas for foreign personalities accused of promoting hate speech or extremist ideologies.
In July 2025, the Australian government revoked the visa of U.S. rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) due to concerns he would promote Nazi ideology through his song “Heil Hitler.”
The Australian government maintains that it has the right to deny entry to noncitizens whose conduct or statements threaten social harmony, public safety, or multicultural unity.
Candace Owens’s Controversial Career
Candace Owens, 36, rose to prominence in the late 2010s as a vocal conservative commentator aligned with the U.S. Republican Party and former President Donald Trump.
Through her online platforms and appearances on Fox News and The Daily Wire, Owens gained millions of followers for her commentary on race relations, feminism, and liberal politics — topics that often sparked public outrage and accusations of hate speech.
She has been criticized for:
- Questioning the death toll of the Holocaust,
- Claiming that Adolf Hitler’s nationalism “would have been fine if it stayed in Germany,”
- Dismissing the Black Lives Matter movement as a “scam,” and
- Spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Australian officials cited these comments as evidence of a consistent pattern of divisive rhetoric, arguing that allowing her to speak publicly in Australia could provoke violence or social unrest.
No Legal Path Left for Appeal
Legal analysts say the High Court’s ruling leaves Owens with no further recourse under Australian law. The decision effectively bars her from entering the country, potentially for several years, unless the Home Affairs Minister reverses the ban.
The court also ordered Owens to pay the government’s legal fees, marking a significant defeat in her international campaign to challenge restrictions on her speaking engagements.
As of Wednesday evening, Owens had not publicly commented on the ruling through her social media accounts, where she typically denounces what she calls “cancel culture” and “political censorship.”
Broader Implications for Free Speech and Immigration Policy
The case has reignited debate over free speech, immigration policy, and the limits of tolerance in democratic societies.
Supporters of the decision argue that Australia must protect its multicultural society from hate speech, while critics say the ruling highlights Australia’s restrictive stance on speech deemed offensive.
Legal experts note that the High Court’s affirmation of ministerial discretion reinforces Australia’s sovereign right to control entry based on character and conduct, regardless of a person’s prominence abroad.
Key Facts About the Case
- Who: Candace Owens, American conservative commentator
- What: Lost High Court appeal to enter Australia
- When: Ruling delivered October 15, 2025
- Why: Risk of inciting social discord through extremist and Islamophobic comments
- Outcome: Visa refusal upheld, legal costs awarded to government
- Minister: Tony Burke, Australian Home Affairs Minister
- Legal Reference: Section 501 of the Migration Act (character test)
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