Bali v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

The appellant, a citizen of India, appealed a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse his application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa on the basis that he did not possess "competent English" as required by cl 485.215 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). The appellant had applied for the visa on 9 March 2012 and indicated that he had undertaken an IELTS test on 2 March 2012, claiming he had competent English. However, a delegate of the Minister refused the application on 17 December 2012, finding that the appellant had not provided evidence of "competent English" as defined by reg 1.15C of the Regulations. The appellant subsequently applied to the Migration Review Tribunal for review of the delegate's decision. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the appellant had "competent English" as required by cl 485.215 of the Regulations.

The Tribunal examined the definition of "competent English" under reg 1.15C of the Regulations, which includes undertaking a language test specified by the Minister and achieving a specified score. The Tribunal found that reg 1.15C(b) did not apply to the appellant. Regarding reg 1.15C(a), the Tribunal identified the IELTS and the Occupational English Test as the specified language tests. The Tribunal concluded that the appellant had not provided evidence that he had undertaken a specified language test and achieved a specified score in the two years immediately before making his application, and therefore did not have competent English for the purposes of satisfying cl 485.215 of the Regulations.

The appeal was dismissed with costs. The Tribunal found that the appellant had not satisfied the requirements for "competent English" and upheld the delegate's decision to refuse the visa application.