Equanimity Consultants Pty Ltd (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by Equanimity Consultants Pty Ltd (the applicant) for approval of a nomination for a Public Relations Professional position under the Direct Entry nomination stream. The applicant, an accredited Registered Training Organisation, sought to nominate an individual for this role to be located in Halls Head, Western Australia. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant met all the requirements stipulated in regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994 for the nomination to be approved.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant satisfied the various criteria for approval of the nomination under regulation 5.19(4). Specifically, this included assessing if the application was made in the approved form, if there was a genuine need for the nominated position, and crucially, whether there was any adverse information known to the Department about the nominator or a person associated with the nominator, or if such information could be reasonably disregarded. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's financial capacity and the terms and conditions of employment for the nominated position.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that the application met the formal requirements of regulation 5.19(4)(a), including the identification of a need for the position and its direct control by the nominator. The Tribunal also addressed the issue of adverse information concerning the nominee, Ms Yi Zheng, and her partner, which had been raised by the Department. After considering the applicant's response to these allegations of a contrived relationship, and applying the definitions of "adverse information" and "associated with" under regulations 1.13A and 1.13B, the Tribunal concluded that the information was not of a nature that would prevent the approval of the nomination. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant met all the requirements of regulation 5.19(4).

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