Cooper (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 143 Contributory Parent (Migrant) visa. The dispute concerned whether the applicants met the eligibility criteria for this visa subclass, specifically in relation to the balance of family test and the definition of eligible children for the purpose of the visa application.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants satisfied the balance of family test, which involves assessing the extent to which the sponsor has a child, parent, or sibling in Australia. A key issue was whether a child from a previous relationship of the sponsor's partner, who was not the sponsor's biological or adopted child, qualified as an "eligible child" for the purposes of the balance of family test.

The Tribunal reasoned that the definition of "eligible child" under the relevant migration regulations did not extend to stepchildren in the context of the balance of family test for this visa subclass. Applying this interpretation, the Tribunal found that the sponsor did not have the requisite number of eligible children in Australia to satisfy the balance of family test. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa applicants the Subclass 143 Contributory Parent (Migrant) visas.