Filivao (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Ms Filivao for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, subclass 485, in the Graduate Work stream. The dispute centred on whether Ms Filivao met the "recent study requirement" as stipulated by the relevant regulations for this visa subclass.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if Ms Filivao satisfied clause 485.221 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause requires that the applicant holds a qualification specified by the Minister, that the qualification was conferred by a specified educational institution, and crucially, that the study for the qualification satisfied the Australian study requirements within the six months immediately preceding the visa application.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Ms Filivao held a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of South Australia, which met the specified qualification and institution criteria, the critical issue was the timing of its completion. The regulations, specifically clause 485.231, mandate that the study must have been completed within the six months ending immediately before the day the application was made. Ms Filivao's Master of Professional Accounting was completed in 2015, which was more than six months prior to her application. The Tribunal found that the regulations did not permit any discretion to consider her circumstances outside this strict timeframe.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant Ms Filivao the Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa. The Tribunal noted that if Ms Filivao wished for her circumstances to be considered, she could seek the intervention of the Minister.