Abdallah (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by a sponsor for approval as a parent sponsor for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (Class GH) visa, Subclass 870. The applicant sought to rely on combined income with his partner to meet the income test requirements.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the income test as prescribed by regulation 2.60U(1)(f) and 2.60W of the Migration Regulations 1994, read in conjunction with Legislative Instrument LIN 19/146. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine the applicable income year and whether the combined taxable income of the applicant and his partner for that year met the required threshold.

The Tribunal reasoned that Legislative Instrument LIN 19/146 specified the required taxable income as $83,454.80 and defined the applicable income year as the most recent completed taxable income year prior to the date of lodgement of the application. The sponsorship application was lodged on 17 April 2019, making the 2017-18 financial year the relevant income year. While the applicant provided evidence of combined income for the 2018-19 financial year that exceeded the threshold, the Tribunal was bound by the definition of the applicable income year and could not consider income from subsequent years. The combined income for the 2017-18 financial year, as evidenced by Notices of Assessment, was $73,032, which fell below the prescribed amount.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to approve the applicant as a parent sponsor.