Citilink Piling (NSW) Pty Ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Citilink Piling (NSW) Pty Ltd for approval of a nomination of a position under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The dispute arose when the Department of Home Affairs refused to approve the nomination, leading to the applicant seeking review by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Citilink Piling (NSW) Pty Ltd met all the requirements for approval of the nomination as set out in regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant had demonstrated sufficient financial capacity to employ the nominee for two years, had met its training obligations, and if there was a genuine need for the nominator to employ the nominee in the specified position.

The Tribunal found that while the applicant initially failed to provide comprehensive financial statements to the Department, subsequent evidence presented to the Tribunal, including payroll expenditure and training invoices, indicated that the total expenditure exceeded the required benchmark. The Tribunal also considered the nominee's evidence regarding his role and the applicant's evidence about its operations, including its focus on government infrastructure projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tribunal concluded that it was reasonable to disregard the non-compliance with the training expenditure benchmark, given the overall expenditure and the genuine need to employ the nominee, who was a long-term employee in a specialised industry.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision approving the nomination.