Adamec (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by an individual seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically the Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa in the Graduate Work stream. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the requirements relating to a skills assessment for their nominated occupation.

The core legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had met the requirements of clauses 485.224 and 485.224(1A) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. These clauses mandate that an applicant's skills for their nominated occupation must have been assessed as suitable by a relevant assessing authority within the last three years, and that any validity period for such an assessment must not have expired.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had nominated the occupation of Systems Analyst and had applied for a skills assessment with the Australian Computer Society (ACS) in July 2019. The applicant provided evidence that this application resulted in a negative outcome in August 2019, and that no review was sought nor a fresh application lodged. Crucially, the applicant confirmed that, as at the time of the hearing, they did not possess a positive skills assessment for their nominated occupation. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not satisfied the requirements of clause 485.224, and therefore did not meet the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.