George v Minister for Immigration

In *George v Minister for Immigration*, the applicant sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning their application for a graduate visa. The core of the dispute revolved around the timing of the applicant's English language test results.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the AAT had committed a jurisdictional error in its assessment of the applicant's eligibility for the graduate visa. Specifically, the court had to determine if the AAT's consideration of an English Language Test completed *after* the visa application was lodged constituted a failure to exercise its jurisdiction according to law.

Justice Kendall found no jurisdictional error. The court reasoned that the relevant legislative provisions and the Migration Regulations did not mandate that the English Language Test be completed prior to the lodgement of the visa application. The AAT was entitled to consider the evidence presented, including the test results obtained after the application date, in determining whether the applicant met the visa criteria. The application was therefore dismissed.