Fagan (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, Graduate Work stream. The applicant sought to satisfy the primary criteria for this visa, specifically clause 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which pertains to the applicant's skills assessment for their nominated occupation. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant had met this criterion.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's skills had been assessed as suitable for their nominated occupation, Carpenter (ANZSCO code 331212), by the relevant assessing authority, Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), within the preceding three years and that any specified validity period for the assessment had not expired. The applicant had initially provided evidence of an unsuccessful skills assessment, leading to a delegate's refusal of the visa application.

The Tribunal noted that the applicant had subsequently applied for and obtained a TRA skills assessment dated 5 January 2017, which indicated his skills were suitable for the nominated occupation. Having verified this assessment with TRA, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant met the requirements of clause 485.224. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration of the remaining criteria.