Bhandari (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr. Bhandari, who sought review of a decision concerning his application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate). The dispute centred on whether Mr. Bhandari had met the criteria for the Graduate Work stream of this visa subclass.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr. Bhandari had satisfied the requirements of clauses 485.223 and 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which relate to the applicant's skills and their nominated occupation. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether Mr. Bhandari had applied for a skills assessment by a relevant assessing authority for his nominated occupation of 'Accountant (General)' at the time of his visa application, as required by clause 485.223. The Tribunal also considered Mr. Bhandari's assertion that he intended to apply under the Post-Study Work stream, rather than the Graduate Work stream, and whether this constituted a "human error" that should be taken into account.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Bhandari had not provided evidence of applying for a skills assessment for his nominated occupation, and therefore did not satisfy clause 485.223. However, the Tribunal accepted Mr. Bhandari's explanation that he had intended to apply under the Post-Study Work stream and that he held a specified qualification, leading the Tribunal to conclude that he met the requirements of clause 485.231(1). Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that Mr. Bhandari met the criteria under clause 485.231(1).