1608390 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 485 visa in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant sought to satisfy the primary criteria for this visa, specifically clauses 485.223 and 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which relate to the applicant's skills in relation to their nominated skilled occupation. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant met these specific requirements.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had been assessed as suitable for their nominated occupation, an Accountant (ANZSCO 221111), by the relevant assessing authority, CPA Australia. This required determining if the applicant's skills assessment, submitted on 7 September 2016, met the criteria stipulated in clause 485.224(1) and (1A) of the Regulations, which mandate a suitable skills assessment within the last three years by the relevant authority, with the assessment period not having expired.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had provided evidence of a provisional skills assessment from CPA Australia dated 5 September 2016. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant's skills had been assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant authority within the preceding three years, thereby satisfying the requirements of clause 485.224(1). Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration of the remaining visa criteria, with a specific direction that the applicant met clause 485.224(1).