Haentjens (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant for a Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant had completed the requisite "specified work" in regional Australia to satisfy a condition of the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's employment as a "Meat Packer" at a supermarket in Lorne constituted "specified work" as defined by the relevant legislative instrument. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the applicant's duties, which involved butchery and packing of meat products, fell within the scope of "immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning" as contemplated by the instrument.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's work, while involving the processing of meat carcases into consumer-ready products, was not considered "secondary processing" by the delegate. The applicant clarified that "specialised slaughtering tasks" referred to the cutting and processing of meat supplied by abattoirs, not the slaughter of animals on-site. The Tribunal found that the applicant's duties, as clarified, likely fell within the definition of "immediate processing of animal products including butchery and packing," as per the applicable instrument. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant met this particular criterion.

The Tribunal remitted the application for a Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met the specified work criteria under clause 417.211(5) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.