21156350 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision concerning an applicant for a Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485), post-study work stream. The dispute centred on whether the applicant satisfied the Australian study requirement as stipulated by clause 485.231 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the correct completion date of the applicant's Master of Information Technology course to ascertain if it fell within the required timeframe of six months immediately preceding the visa application. The applicant lodged their application on 26 January 2021. The Tribunal had to reconcile conflicting documentary evidence regarding the course completion date, specifically a letter from the university dated 7 August 2020 stating completion of requirements on 8 July 2020, and an academic transcript and degree certificate indicating conferral on 27 July 2020.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the initial letter from the university suggested a completion date outside the six-month window, other documentation, including the academic transcript and the degree itself, confirmed the award completion date as 27 July 2020. This date fell within the six-month period prior to the application. The Tribunal noted an apparent discrepancy in a later university letter regarding the admission date, but found that the applicant's own provided documentation, particularly the academic transcript and degree conferral date, satisfied the Australian study requirement. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant meets the criterion under clause 485.231.