Acharya (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the applications of Acharya for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicant had provided sufficient evidence of their criminal history, specifically a statement from an appropriate Australian authority.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of regulation 2.03AA of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates the provision of a statement from an appropriate authority regarding criminal history. The Tribunal also considered whether a Form 80 was required, and how the application of a second applicant, who was a member of the family unit, should be determined.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided an Immigration/Citizenship Certificate issued by the Australian Federal Police, dated 8 March 2021, which indicated no disclosable court outcomes. This satisfied the requirement under regulation 2.03AA(2)(a). The Tribunal also noted that there was no evidence that a Form 80 had been requested, rendering regulation 2.03AA(2)(b) inapplicable. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant met the criteria under regulation 2.03AA(2). The Tribunal remitted the applications for reconsideration by the Department, directing that the first applicant met the specified criteria. The second applicant's application was to be determined by reference to the outcome of the first applicant's reconsidered application.