China Holidays Travel Group (Australia) Pty Ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an appeal by China Holidays Travel Group (Australia) Pty Ltd concerning the refusal of a nomination for a visa under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The core dispute revolved around whether the nominator, China Holidays Travel Group (Australia) Pty Ltd, had demonstrated sufficient financial capacity to maintain the nominated employment for at least two years.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nominator met the requirements of regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically concerning its financial capacity to employ the nominee on a full-time basis for at least two years. This required the Tribunal to assess the nominator's financial position, including its revenue, expenses, and payment commitments, in light of the delegate's concerns about its ability to sustain the employment.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the nomination, finding that the nominator had not satisfied the financial capacity requirements. While the nominator presented evidence of downsizing expenses and outsourcing certain roles, the Tribunal noted a consistent year-on-year decrease in revenue between 2017 and 2019. Furthermore, the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic was acknowledged, with the nominator confirming a significant disruption to its international travel operations. Despite efforts to retain staff through government grants and continued payment of the nominee's salary, the overall financial evidence did not sufficiently demonstrate the capacity to maintain the nominated employment for the required period.