Gil Vejarano (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Gil Vejarano against a decision relating to a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa application, specifically a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the applicant had met the health criteria as stipulated by Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005. The decision was made by Bridget Cullen, a Member of the Tribunal.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had satisfied Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005(1)(aa), which mandates that applicants in a specified class must undertake a medical assessment unless a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth decides otherwise. The Tribunal was required to consider whether the applicant had indeed undergone the necessary medical examination as prescribed by the Migration Regulations 1994 and relevant ministerial instruments.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant had initially not undertaken the required medical assessment, subsequent information received indicated that the applicant had attended and completed medical examinations. The Tribunal confirmed with the Department that these examinations satisfied the requirements and revealed no health concerns. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the requirements of PIC 4005(1)(aa) were met.

Based on these findings, the Tribunal determined that the appropriate course of action was to remit the application to the Minister for reconsideration of the remaining visa criteria. The Tribunal directed that the first named applicant had met the health criterion PIC 4005(1)(aa)(i) for the purposes of clause 485.216 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.