Efionayi (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant's primary claim was to satisfy the criteria under clauses 485.223 and 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which relate to the applicant's skills in their nominated occupation.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had met the requirement under clause 485.223, which mandates that a visa application must be accompanied by evidence of an application for a skills assessment by a relevant assessing authority for the nominated skilled occupation. The applicant had nominated 'Registered Nurse (Aged Care)' and the relevant assessing authority was the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation Council Limited. However, on the application form, the applicant indicated they had not applied for a skills assessment.

The Tribunal accepted the applicant's explanation that she had mistakenly applied for the wrong visa stream due to inadvertent error, intending to apply under the Post-Study Work Stream. This mistake was compounded by the applicant having been a victim of theft, losing significant funds intended for her visa application and migration agent fees, which left her unable to afford professional assistance at the time of application. Despite not satisfying clause 485.223, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the requirements of clause 485.231(1). Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant met the specified criteria.