Hehir (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, Graduate Work stream. The applicant nominated the occupation of Child Care Centre Manager. The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant had satisfied the specific criteria relating to skills assessment for their nominated occupation as required by clauses 485.223 and 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal was required to determine two key legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant had provided evidence of having applied for a skills assessment by a relevant assessing authority at the time of lodging their visa application, as stipulated by clause 485.223. Secondly, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether the applicant's skills had been assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority within the preceding three years, in accordance with clause 485.224. The definition of "skilled occupation" and "relevant assessing authority" under the Regulations were also relevant to these determinations.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had indeed satisfied the requirements of clause 485.223, as evidence of an application for a skills assessment by the Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), the specified assessing authority for Child Care Centre Manager, accompanied the visa application. Furthermore, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the criteria of clause 485.224, having been provided with a copy of a TRA skills assessment dated 9 August 2017, which confirmed a successful assessment for the nominated occupation and indicated its suitability for a Subclass 485 visa application. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met these specific criteria.