Ghasemipoor (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Business Skills (Residence) (Class DF) visa, subclass 892 (State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner), brought by Mr Ghasemipoor. The primary dispute revolved around whether the value of goodwill in the applicant's business should be included when assessing the net value of his business and personal assets for the purposes of meeting visa requirements. The decision was made by a member of the Tribunal.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of clause 892.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant met at least two of the three criteria outlined in that clause, which relate to Australian employment, the net value of business and personal assets in Australia, and the net value of assets in the main business in Australia. The central question was whether internally generated goodwill, valued at AUD125,000 and AUD172,000 at relevant dates, could be counted towards the asset thresholds.

The Tribunal reasoned that clause 892.212 requires the applicant to meet specific asset thresholds, and that the applicant had not provided sufficient information regarding employment figures. Crucially, the Tribunal considered the definition of "net assets" in the context of the visa requirements and determined that internally generated goodwill, as per Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) Standard 138, should not be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the net value of assets under clause 892.212(b) and (c). As the applicant failed to satisfy the substantive requirements of this essential criterion, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the visa.