Chandni (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa, brought by the applicants. The primary dispute revolved around whether the applicants had met Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005, which requires applicants to undergo specified medical assessments unless a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth decides otherwise. The applicants had initially failed to provide evidence of completing the required medical examinations by the Department's deadline. The decision was made by C. Packer of the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants had satisfied the requirements of PIC 4005(1)(aa) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This criterion mandates that applicants in a specified class undertake a medical assessment by a specified person, unless a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth directs otherwise. The Tribunal was required to determine if the evidence provided by the applicants, specifically regarding the "auto-cleared" status of their health cases, met this requirement.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicants initially failed to provide the necessary documentation, subsequent evidence submitted on 23 August 2018 indicated that their health cases had achieved an "auto-cleared" status by 3 October 2017 for the first applicant and 27 September 2017 for the second applicant. The Tribunal accepted this evidence as satisfying the requirements of PIC 4005(1). Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the appropriate course of action was to remit the matter to the Minister for reconsideration of the remaining visa criteria. The Tribunal directed that the first named applicant met PIC 4005(1) for the purposes of cl.485.216(1) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.