Burke (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Tribunal regarding a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, Subclass 309. The central dispute revolved around the applicant's daughter's health requirements, specifically whether a waiver of Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4007 was warranted.

The Tribunal was required to determine if there were sufficient reasons to justify granting a waiver of PIC 4007, which relates to health requirements. Additionally, the Tribunal considered the nature of the spousal relationship between the review applicant and the visa applicant.

The Tribunal considered evidence that the visa applicant's 17-year-old daughter has a mild intellectual impairment due to autism. Despite this, she is capable of self-care and domestic tasks. Crucially, both the applicant and sponsor stated she was unlikely to ever come to Australia. Their intention was to build a house in Thailand and spend half the year there, maintaining contact with the daughter who has been granted guardianship to her brother. The Tribunal also noted the applicant's strong ties to Australia. Given these circumstances, the Tribunal concluded that the daughter was extremely unlikely to join the visa applicant in Australia, and therefore, the appropriate course was to remit the application for reconsideration by the Minister. The Tribunal directed that the visa applicant meets the criteria under cl 309.225 (PIC 4007(2)(b)) for the purposes of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.