Chan (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Mr. Chan for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa, Post-Study Work stream. The central dispute concerned whether Mr. Chan met the Australian study requirement for this visa subclass.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr. Chan held a qualification specified by the Minister, conferred by a specified educational institution, and if his study for that qualification satisfied the Australian study requirement within the six months preceding his visa application. This involved interpreting the definitions of "completed" and "academic year" as they relate to the completion date of his Bachelor of Accounting degree from the Australian National University (ANU).

The Tribunal found that Mr. Chan held a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the ANU, which met the specified qualification and institution requirements. Crucially, the Tribunal accepted the ANU's confirmation that Mr. Chan "successfully completed the requirements for the bachelor of accounting on 27 July 2020". Based on this finding, the Tribunal concluded that Mr. Chan met the Australian study requirement as stipulated in clause 485.231 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with the direction that Mr. Chan had satisfied the criterion under clause 485.231. The Minister was to then consider the remaining criteria for the visa.