Carna Therapeutics Pty ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Carna Therapeutics Pty Ltd) considered a dispute concerning the cancellation of a standard business sponsor approval. The applicant, Carna Therapeutics Pty Ltd, operated a business providing massage services and had been approved as a standard business sponsor. The core of the dispute involved an allegation that the applicant failed to ensure that a sponsored person, Ms. Shimizu, worked only in the nominated occupation of Massage Therapist, as approved by the Minister.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether a prescribed circumstance existed for the imposition of sanctions under the Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess if the applicant had failed to satisfy a sponsorship obligation by allowing the sponsored person to engage in activities beyond the scope of their nominated occupation, which included the production, promotion, and sale of aromatherapy products. The Tribunal also had to consider the appropriate action to be taken under section 140M of the Act, given any identified failure.

In reaching its decision, the Tribunal applied the provisions of sections 140K, 140L, and 140M of the Act, along with relevant regulations concerning sponsorship obligations and the criteria for determining sanctions. The Tribunal considered all evidence, including departmental records and oral testimony, to ascertain whether the sponsored person had worked outside the nominated occupation. Having found a failure to satisfy the sponsorship obligation, the Tribunal then applied the prescribed criteria under regulation 2.89(3), which included factors such as the nature and severity of the failure, the applicant's cooperation with the Department, and steps taken to rectify the breach.

The Tribunal set aside the original decision under review and substituted its own decision. Carna Therapeutics Pty Ltd's approval as a standard business sponsor was cancelled, and the company was barred for a period of nine months from making any future applications for approval as a standard business sponsor. This period of exclusion commenced from the date of the Department's decision, 20 December 2018, and concluded on 20 September 2019.