Falcon Financial Services Pty Ltd (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by Falcon Financial Services Pty Ltd for approval of a nomination of a position under the Direct Entry stream. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the requirements for approval of the nomination as set out in regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had demonstrated a genuine need for the nominated position of Accountant (General) in its Bathurst office. This required consideration of regulation 5.19(4)(a)(ii), which mandates that the application must identify a need for the nominator to employ an identified person as a paid employee to work in the position under their direct control. The Tribunal also reviewed the evidence provided to the Department in 2018, which included a nomination form, a lease agreement for the Bathurst office, a letter from an accountant regarding the business's financial position, and a letter from Mr Samarasinghe detailing the business's operations and the need for a full-time accountant.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination. It found that while the application form was compliant and no fee was payable for a regional nomination, the delegate had correctly identified that the applicant had not sufficiently demonstrated a need for the Accountant (General) position. The Tribunal noted that the applicant, operating a small financial business, had not provided updated financial evidence, such as current Business Activity Statements and a current lease for the Bathurst office, to support its claim of need. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not satisfied the criteria under regulation 5.19(4), and therefore the nomination could not be approved.