CAHILL VICTORIA PTY LTD ATF SINGH FAMILY TRUST (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a nomination application made by Cahill Victoria Pty Ltd ATF Singh Family Trust for a position as a Chef under the Direct Entry stream. The delegate had previously refused to approve the nomination, and the applicant sought review of this decision. The Tribunal noted that the applicant's representative had advised that Cahill Victoria Pty Ltd had been deregistered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on 20 September 2021.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the general requirements for approval of a nomination under regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994, and specifically the stream-specific requirements for the Direct Entry stream under regulation 5.19(9). The Tribunal was required to determine if all mandatory criteria had been satisfied for the nomination to be approved.

The Tribunal reasoned that regulation 5.19(4)(a) requires an application to be made in accordance with regulation 5.19(2). A key requirement under regulation 5.19(2) is that the nominator must be actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, as stipulated in regulation 5.19(9)(a) for Direct Entry stream nominations. Given that Cahill Victoria Pty Ltd had been deregistered in September 2021, prior to the application being made, the Tribunal found that the nominator was not actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant met the requirements of regulation 5.19.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination.