Frois Rodrigues (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically the Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant sought to satisfy the primary criteria for this visa, which included a requirement that their Australian qualifications be closely related to their nominated skilled occupation. The decision under review affirmed the refusal of this visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's qualification in leadership and management was "closely related" to the nominated skilled occupation of Chef (ANZSCO 351311), as required by clause 485.222 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant met this criterion, considering that the term "closely related" is not statutorily defined but has been interpreted by courts to mean more than merely complementary.

The Tribunal reasoned that the assessment of whether a qualification is "closely related" to a nominated occupation must focus on the nominated occupation itself, as defined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). It is not sufficient for some subjects within a qualification to be closely related; the entirety of the Australian studies must be compared with the entirety of the nominated skilled occupation. In this instance, the Tribunal found that while a qualification in leadership and management might be complementary to the occupation of a chef, it was not "closely related" in the sense required by the legislation. The Tribunal gave substantial weight to the ANZSCO description of the Chef occupation and concluded that the applicant's qualification did not meet the necessary threshold of closeness.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. As this was the only relevant subclass in this case, the application was dismissed.