Geraldton Air Charter Pty Ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) reviewed a decision by the Minister not to approve a nomination made by Geraldton Air Charter Pty Ltd for the occupation of Aeroplane Pilot under the medium-term stream of the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa program. The applicant sought to have the nomination approved, which is a prerequisite for the nominee to be granted a TSS visa.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for approval of the nomination, specifically concerning its status as a standard business sponsor and whether the nominated position was genuine and full-time, as required by the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal was also required to consider the applicant's failure to respond to an invitation issued under s 359(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that it could not be satisfied that the applicant was a standard business sponsor at the time of the decision, as no contemporary information had been provided in response to the s 359(2) invitation. Furthermore, due to the lack of contemporary evidence, the Tribunal was unable to be satisfied that the nominated position of Aeroplane Pilot was genuine or full-time, as required by reg 2.72(10). The Tribunal applied the principles from *Cargo First Pty Ltd v MIBP* [2016] FCA 30 regarding the qualitative assessment of a nominated position. Having found that the applicant failed to meet these essential criteria, the Tribunal concluded that it was unnecessary to consider other requirements.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, meaning the nomination was not approved.