Cartwright (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an appeal by an applicant concerning a Subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent) visa. The dispute centred on the applicant's failure to provide a complete set of tax assessment notices as required by the visa regulations.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirement under clause 189.232 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates the provision of notices of assessment for the four most recently completed income years prior to the application date. The applicant had initially failed to provide the notice of assessment for the 2015 income year, submitting a tax return instead.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant had initially failed to meet the specific documentary requirement, they had subsequently provided the missing 2015 notice of assessment to the Tribunal. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant now satisfied clause 189.232. The Tribunal therefore remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met this particular criterion.