Basilisco Antonio (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Basilisco Antonio for approval as a standard business sponsor. The applicant sought to be approved as a sponsor to nominate individuals for a Subclass 457 visa. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for approval as a standard business sponsor as set out in regulation 2.59 and additional criteria under regulation 2.60S of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The legal issues before the Tribunal included whether the applicant had applied in the approved manner, was not already a standard business sponsor, was lawfully operating a business in Australia, had met the training benchmarks for Australian employees, had provided the required attestations regarding local labour and non-discriminatory recruitment, and whether there was any adverse information known to Immigration. The Tribunal also considered whether the number of proposed nominees was reasonable and whether the applicant had complied with regulations concerning the transfer, recovery, and payment of sponsorship-related costs.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had satisfied the procedural requirements for application, was not an existing sponsor, and was lawfully operating a business as a sole proprietor trading as Cosmo Hair & Beauty since 2001. Crucially, the Tribunal determined that the applicant met the training benchmark by demonstrating recent expenditure of at least 1% of payroll on employee training, as required by regulation 2.59(d). The applicant had also provided the necessary written attestations and declarations. No adverse information was found, and the proposed number of nominees was deemed reasonable. The Tribunal also found no evidence of actions related to the transfer or recovery of sponsorship costs that would preclude approval.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision not to approve the application and substituted a decision approving the applicant as a standard business sponsor for a period of three years from the date of approval.