Contini (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 188 Business Skills (Provisional) visa. The applicant's partner, Mr. Par Anton Henrik Stigell, was a member of the family unit and therefore required to satisfy the character test under Public Interest Criterion 4001, as prescribed by regulation 2.03AA(2)(a). The Department had initially refused the visa application because Mr. Stigell failed to provide all requested police certificates within the specified timeframe. The applicant sought review of this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Stigell had satisfied the requirements of regulation 2.03AA(2)(a) by providing the necessary statements from relevant authorities regarding his criminal history. This criterion is essential for meeting clause 188.213(3) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. The Tribunal had to determine if the documentation subsequently provided by the applicant, including police certificates from Australia, Monaco, the UK, Switzerland, and Sweden, adequately addressed the Minister's request.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Mr. Stigell initially failed to provide all requested documents to the Department, the applicant had, on review, provided a comprehensive set of police certificates. These included certificates from Australia, Monaco, the UK, and Switzerland, all indicating no disclosable criminal history. Crucially, a Swedish police certificate, accompanied by an English translation, was also provided. This certificate disclosed two court outcomes for Mr. Stigell: one for complicity in acting disloyally towards authority and another for tax evasion and bookkeeping offences, both resulting in imprisonment. The Tribunal concluded that as Mr. Stigell had now provided the requested statements, the requirement under regulation 2.03AA(2)(a) for the purposes of clause 188.213(3) had been met.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration. The direction was that the applicant meets the criteria under regulation 2.03AA(2)(a) in respect of Mr. Stigell for the purposes of clause 188.213(3) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.