AUS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision to refuse the approval of a nomination for a position under the Direct Entry stream of the Employer Nomination scheme. The applicant was AUS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, the nominator, and the decision under review concerned the approval of a nominated position for a real estate agent.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the nominator met the requirements for approval of the nomination under regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal needed to assess if the nominator was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, and if there was a genuine need for the nominated position in regional Australia, among other criteria.

The Tribunal found that the nominator failed to satisfy the requirement under regulation 5.19(4)(b) that it be actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia. This was because the nominator did not respond to the Tribunal's invitation to provide information addressing this requirement, and the available information only concerned circumstances prior to 2016, leaving the Tribunal unsatisfied that the business was lawfully operating at the time of the decision. While the Tribunal found that some aspects of regulation 5.19(4)(h)(ii) concerning a genuine need for the position in regional Australia were met, the failure to satisfy regulation 5.19(4)(b) was determinative.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination, as the applicant had not met the necessary requirements for approval under the Direct Entry nomination stream.