1601542 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by an individual seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for a subclass 485 visa in the Graduate Work stream. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the requirements of clauses 485.223 and 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which pertain to the applicant's skills in relation to their nominated skilled occupation.

The Tribunal was required to determine two key legal issues: firstly, whether the applicant had applied for a relevant skills assessment at the time of lodging their visa application, as mandated by clause 485.223; and secondly, whether the applicant's skills had been assessed as suitable for their nominated occupation by a relevant assessing authority within the preceding three years, and if so, whether that assessment remained valid, as required by clause 485.224. The definition of "skilled occupation" and "relevant assessing authority" under the Regulations and relevant legislative instruments were also central to these determinations.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had satisfied clause 485.223 because the Department's file contained evidence of a skills assessment application made by the applicant to the Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) on 28 September 2015, which accompanied the visa application. Regarding clause 485.224, the Tribunal found that the applicant's skills had been assessed by TRA on 3 February 2016 as suitable for the nominated occupation of Electronic Equipment Trades Worker, and that the validity of this assessment had been confirmed. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant met both criteria.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant had met the requirements of clauses 485.223 and 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Minister was to proceed to consider the remaining criteria for the subclass 485 visa.