Hassan (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate), before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant the visa. The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant had met a specific documentary requirement related to an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant satisfied clause 485.213 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. This clause mandates that a visa application must be accompanied by evidence that the applicant, and any other person included in the application aged 16 or over, had applied for an AFP check within the 12 months immediately preceding the application date. The applicant had answered "No" to a question on the online application form regarding whether such an application had been made, and confirmed at the hearing that he had not applied for an AFP check prior to lodging his visa application.

The Tribunal found that there was no dispute that the applicant had not applied for an AFP check within the required 12-month period before lodging his visa application, and therefore the application was not accompanied by the requisite evidence. While the Tribunal accepted that the applicant's failure to apply for the AFP check was an innocent mistake and noted that the subsequent check revealed no disclosable outcomes, it concluded that it had no discretion to waive this mandatory requirement. Consequently, the applicant did not satisfy clause 485.213, and therefore did not meet the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa.