Financier Software Pty Ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) reviewed a decision by the Department of Home Affairs concerning a nomination for a visa. The applicant, Financier Software Pty Ltd, sought to sponsor a nominee for the occupation of Accountant (General) under the Medium-term stream. The dispute centred on whether the nominated position was genuine and whether the nominee performed the majority of the tasks associated with the nominated occupation as defined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the nominated position for an Accountant (General) was genuine, as required by regulation 2.72(10)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether the actual duties performed by the nominee substantially aligned with the tasks described in the ANZSCO for an Accountant (General). The Tribunal also considered whether the nominee performed a majority of these tasks, a key component in assessing the genuineness of the nominated role.

The Tribunal reasoned that the genuineness of a nominated position requires more than simply existing; it must accurately reflect the nominated occupation and the duties described in ANZSCO. After hearing evidence from the company's CEO, the Tribunal found that the nominee's primary role involved training customers on the applicant's specialised financial forecasting software and providing support. While the nominee was a qualified accountant, her day-to-day duties did not encompass a significant majority of the tasks listed in the ANZSCO description for an Accountant (General), such as formulating accounting policies, preparing financial statements for presentation to boards, conducting financial investigations, or providing taxation advice. Instead, her role was more aligned with software support and consultancy.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the nominated position was not genuine in the sense that it did not correspond to the occupation of Accountant (General) as defined by ANZSCO. The Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision not to approve the nomination, as a requirement of the Migration Regulations had not been met.