DE BUCK (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Training (Class GF) Subclass 407 visa. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicant met the requirements of subclause 407.214(b) of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates that the applicant must be the subject of an approved nomination of occupational training by an approved work sponsor at the time of the decision. The applicant had previously applied for a review of a decision to refuse a nomination, but this review was withdrawn.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied the criteria for the Subclass 407 visa, specifically the requirement for an approved or pending nomination by an approved work sponsor. The Tribunal had notified the applicant under section 359A of the Migration Act 1958, providing information that indicated the review of a nomination refusal by Everlasting Agriculture Management Pty Ltd had been withdrawn and that there was no record of an approved or pending nomination by an approved work sponsor on the Department's files. The applicant was invited to respond in writing to this information.

In response, the applicant explained that the review of his nomination had been withdrawn on the advice of an authorised recipient of his visa, due to previous nomination refusals related to insufficient experience in Human Resource Management and Arborist roles. He detailed personal circumstances, including financial hardship and the impact of bushfires on his potential new sponsor, the Batlow Rhododendron Nursery. The applicant expressed a desire for an extension of his bridging visa to allow time to find alternative sponsors. However, the Tribunal noted that the applicant's written submission did not provide any information demonstrating that he was the subject of an approved or pending nomination by an approved work sponsor, which was a mandatory requirement for the visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Training (Class GF) Subclass 407 visa, as the applicant failed to satisfy the essential criterion of having an approved or pending nomination by an approved work sponsor at the time of the decision.