1515692 (Migration)

The applicant sought to satisfy the primary criteria for a Subclass 485 visa in the Graduate Work stream, specifically clause 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which pertains to the applicant's skills in relation to their nominated skilled occupation. The dispute before the tribunal concerned whether the applicant had met this requirement, which necessitates a skills assessment by a relevant authority as suitable for the nominated occupation within the last three years, and for the assessment period not to have expired.

The tribunal was required to determine the applicant's nominated skilled occupation for the Subclass 485 visa. The tribunal noted that case law, such as *Patel v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship & Anor* [2011] FCA 1220, establishes that under the General Skilled Migration visa scheme post-September 2007, an applicant cannot change their nominated skilled occupation during the visa processing. Therefore, the tribunal had to ascertain the applicant's actual nominated occupation based on the evidence presented.

The tribunal reasoned that while the applicant had submitted a Form 1023 indicating "System Analyst" as their correct nominated occupation, this did not definitively resolve the issue. However, the tribunal observed that the applicant's skills assessment application form lodged with the Australian Computer Society (ACS) clearly nominated "System Analyst," and this assessment, dated 28 September 2015, was referenced by both the skills assessment and the Form 1023. Consequently, the tribunal was satisfied that the reference to "Software Engineer" in the visa application was an unintentional error and that the applicant had nominated "System Analyst" (ANZSCO Code 261112) in their visa application lodged on 31 July 2015. The tribunal concluded that the applicant met the requirements of clause 485.224(1).

The tribunal remitted the application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa for reconsideration by the Minister, with the direction that the applicant meets the criteria under clause 485.224(1) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.