1512800 (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse subclass 487 visas to the applicant and his family. The primary issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the English language requirements for the visa. The applicant held an Indian passport and had undertaken two IELTS tests, one in 2011 and another in 2016. The visa application was lodged on 31 August 2011, with the applicant's daughter added to the application after her birth in November 2011. The visas were refused on 3 September 2015.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant possessed the requisite level of English language proficiency as defined by the relevant regulations. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether the applicant met the requirements of regulation 1.15C(a) or (b) in conjunction with clause 487.215. Regulation 1.15C(b) specified certain passports as sufficient for meeting English language requirements, which the applicant did not hold. Therefore, the applicant could only satisfy the definition of competent English if he met regulation 1.15C(a).

The Tribunal reasoned that regulation 1.15C(a)(iii) required a score of at least 6 in each of the four components of a single IELTS test, undertaken within the two years immediately preceding the visa application. The applicant's 2011 IELTS test did not meet this requirement, as he scored 5.0 in reading and an overall band score of 6.0. The Tribunal found that the definition of "competent English" was amended on 1 July 2011, and applications lodged on or after that date were subject to the stricter requirement of achieving at least 6 in each component. The Tribunal noted that the applicant's subsequent IELTS test in 2016, even if it had met the component score requirements, would not satisfy the temporal requirement of being undertaken within two years of the application. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.