1416388 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision concerning a nomination application made by an applicant company. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant company had met the prescribed criteria for the approval of its nomination, which was a prerequisite for a Subclass 457 visa application. The Tribunal was tasked with determining if the nomination complied with the relevant regulations, specifically Regulation 2.72 and, where applicable, section 140GBA of the Migration Act 1958.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant company had satisfied the requirements of Regulation 2.72, including that the nomination was made in accordance with the prescribed process, that the nominator was a standard business sponsor, that the nominee was correctly identified, that the nominated occupation and its ANZSCO code corresponded to a specified occupation, and that the terms and conditions of employment for the nominee would be no less favourable than those provided to an Australian citizen or permanent resident performing equivalent work. The Tribunal also had to consider whether there was any adverse information known to Immigration about the applicant or associated persons.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant company had met all the applicable criteria for the nomination to be approved. It found that the nomination complied with the procedural requirements of Regulation 2.73, that the applicant was a standard business sponsor, and that the necessary information regarding the occupation and the proposed visa holder had been provided. The Tribunal was satisfied that no adverse information was known to Immigration and that the nominated occupation and its ANZSCO code were specified in the relevant instrument. Furthermore, the Tribunal was satisfied that the terms and conditions of employment offered to the nominee would be no less favourable than those for an Australian equivalent. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision not to approve the nomination and substituted a decision approving the nomination.