1607515 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a migration matter involving an applicant seeking a Skilled - Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visa, specifically subclass 189. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the requirements for a suitable skills assessment for the nominated occupation of Solicitor at the time of invitation to apply for the visa. A second applicant, who applied as a member of the primary applicant's family unit, had their application's determination contingent on the outcome of the primary applicant's case.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's skills assessment, issued by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB), met the criteria stipulated in clause 189.212(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether the assessment was conducted by the relevant assessing authority, whether the nominated occupation was listed as a skilled occupation in the relevant legislative instrument, and whether the assessment was current and suitable for the visa subclass applied for, particularly in light of amendments to the regulations concerning assessments for subclass 485 visas and the currency of assessments.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's skills assessment, dated 16 February 2016, was issued by the relevant assessing authority (VLAB, formerly the Council of Legal Education and Board of Examiners) for the nominated occupation of Solicitor, which is listed in Legislative Instrument IMMI 16/060. The Tribunal was satisfied that the assessment did not state it was for a subclass 485 visa and had no specified validity period, and that the applicant was invited to apply for the subclass 189 visa on 9 March 2016. Based on the material before it, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the criteria under clause 189.212 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa applications for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the first named applicant meets the criteria under clause 189.212. The second applicant's application was to be determined by reference to the outcome of the primary applicant's reconsideration.