1513459 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute between an applicant and the Department of Home Affairs concerning a Subclass 189 visa application. The applicant sought a Skilled - Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visa, but the Department refused to grant it. The Tribunal was tasked with reviewing this decision.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the requirements of Clause 189.212(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that at the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the applicant's skills must have been assessed as suitable for their nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority. For invitations issued on or after 28 October 2013, this assessment cannot be one for a Subclass 485 visa. Furthermore, for applications made on or after 1 July 2014, the assessment must be current at the time of invitation.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's nominated occupation, external auditor, was a "Skilled occupation" and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia was the "relevant assessing authority." The applicant lodged an expression of interest on 26 June 2015 and was invited to apply for the visa on 6 July 2015. The applicant lodged the visa application on 28 July 2015, stating their nominated occupation and that a skills assessment was undertaken on 24 June 2015. However, the skills assessment provided to the Department, dated 15 July 2015, was received after the invitation to apply. The Tribunal noted that a previous skills assessment in 2013 was for a Subclass 485 visa. Despite an adjournment to allow the applicant to gather further evidence, no information was provided to demonstrate the skills assessment was completed before the invitation date.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 189 visa, as the skills assessment was not valid at the time of invitation. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.