AMUTHA RASANTHAN (Migration)

This matter concerned a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of a decision to refuse a nomination under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The review applicant, Amutha Rasanthan, sought to have the decision to refuse her nomination overturned. The Tribunal was required to consider whether the applicant met the requirements for approval of the nomination under regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nominator, Ms Rasanthan, was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, as required by regulation 5.19(3)(b)(ii). The Tribunal also considered the applicant's submission regarding a sponsorship bar imposed by the Department, but noted that this decision was not the subject of the current review and the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to consider it.

The Tribunal found that Ms Rasanthan had sold the relevant business in October 2015 and had no further dealings with it, nor was she actively operating any other business. Her agent conceded that this meant she could not meet the requirement of actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia. The Tribunal noted that while Ms Rasanthan hoped to open another business in the future, these plans were speculative and there were no immediate prospects. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the nominator met the requirements of regulation 5.19(3)(b)(ii).

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination.