Novak Djokovic's final attempt to overturn his visa cancellation and stay in Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open has been delayed after an expired link to broadcast the hearing was hijacked with pornographic pictures.
The tennis champion has been detained in a Melbourne hotel used to house refugees since his unsuccessful bid to enter Australia last Wednesday, where he was denied entry on the basis he was unvaccinated and did not have a valid exemption.
On Monday morning, Federal Court Judge Anthony Kelly held off on proceedings after technical disruptions prohibited any parties from tuning in.
The appeal is being held remotely via an audio visual link. Djokovic is not expected to tune in for the hearing and remains in the Park Hotel where he's spent the last five days.
The court initially issued a Microsoft teams link to livestream, but later updated the advice with a new website to watch proceedings.
Minutes before the case was set to begin, the initial link was overrun by members of the Serbian public and foreign press and at one stage, an unknown person took over control and displayed pornographic pictures for hundreds to see.
It's understood the court is now trying to close the teams link.
The new link also crashed due to the overwhelming global issue. Officials are aware of the issue and working to fix it.
When proceedings do get underway, each party will have no more than 120 minutes to make their submissions.
Novak Djokovic 's final attempt to overturn his visa cancellation and stay in Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open is underway
Lawyers for the Minister of Home Affairs filed their submissions at 10.30pm on Sunday - less than 12 hours before the case will be heard in the Federal Court.
The government maintains the decision to tear up Djokovic's visa was correct on the basis he failed to justify his purported medical exemption, and that his team was using outdated vaccination advice.
Even if Djokovic is successful in his visa battle, lawyers for the government say they could cancel his visa again, leaving him in perpetual limbo just a week before the Open begins.
Their submission claims Djokovic is of a 'greater health risk' of spreading the virus than an vaccinated person, and that infecting others would 'burden the health system'.
Novak Djokovic (pictured with Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley in 2021) is set to learn his fate after a whirlwind trip to try and defend his Australian Open title - which would make him the most successful men's player of all time
Police personnel watch pro-refugee protestors rally outside the Park Hotel on Monday
Djokovic's supporters have camped outside his Melbourne detention hotel for days (pictured on Sunday), waving Serbian flags and chanting for their idol to be released
Police personnel detain a pro-refugee protestor outside the Park Hotel, where Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is being held
Victoria alone tallied up 44,155 new Covid cases on Sunday, as several states in Australia quickly go from boasting among the world's lowest infection rates to some of the highest.
'An order for immediate release does not prevent re-detention if there is power to detain', the submission read, raising questions about whether any outcome on Monday would see the tennis great released in time to play even if the court ruled in his favour.
But his high powered legal team argues border officers acted unjustly and made critical jurisdictional errors in cancelling his temporary worker visa in the early hours of Thursday.
They claim the Australian Travel Declaration assessment, which arrivals on most visas must complete before boarding, said he had met quarantine-free arrival requirements.
A man gestures in a window of the Park Hotel, where Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is being held
A prayer for Novak Djokovic is led by an Orthodox priest outside the Park Hotel in Melbourne on Sunday (pictured) where he is still being detained
An ATAGI document, which the Federal Government uses to determine if someone is eligible for an exemption, states a previous infection can be used as a reason not to be vaccinated yet
Results of the assessment are processed by a computer in just 60 seconds, with the government saying the document isn't official proof someone can enter the country and exists purely to give travellers an idea of whether they're eligible to enter or not.
His team also argues he was not given time to rest, having travelled for 25 hours, or speak to a lawyer during hours of questioning at Melbourne Airport, with the star left 'confused'.
ATAGI website guidelines which Djokovic and his team based their understanding of his 'medical exemption' on, state 'PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection,' is a valid reason for a temporary medical exemption.
'Vaccination can be deferred until 6 months after the infection,' the guidelines state.
In these circumstances, a person would be considered exempt from getting the jab if they can prove they've been diagnosed with Covid in the last six months.
But the government argued on Sunday night this document is designed to be read in conjunction with a visa application form which clearly stipulates that this isn't the case.
The response also states that regardless, the ATAGI guidelines are designed for people with 'acute medical illness', whereas Djokovic simply proved he was diagnosed with Covid, not necessarily how it impacted his health.
Novak Djokovic is pictured mingling with children one day after he allegedly received a positive Covid test
The same day as the reported coronavirus test he is pictured attending a ceremony in his honour in Belgrade
Court documents tendered to Judge Anthony Kelly ahead of Monday's showdown state Djokovic produced documents of his diagnosis when he was interrogated by border force officials on the night of Wednesday, January 5.
'The Delegate made the illogical or irrational finding that Mr Djokovic had not produced evidence of a medical contraindication when, in fact, he plainly had provided ample such evidence,' the documents state.
'Mr Djokovic produced evidence of a recent positive COVID test from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia. Two other medical practitioners provided him with an exemption
