Hewa Atapattuge (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500 (Student), brought by Hewa Atapattuge. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had provided satisfactory evidence of Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) as required by the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). The decision was made by Senior Member Kira Raif of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied clause 500.215 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations, which mandates the provision of evidence of adequate health insurance arrangements in Australia for the applicant's intended period of stay. The delegate had initially been unsatisfied due to evidence of health insurance that did not specify a period of validity, despite other evidence indicating cover until April 2019.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had subsequently provided evidence of OSHC with Allianz valid until August 2021, which extended beyond the applicant's course completion date of December 2020. Based on this, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant had met the health insurance requirement under clause 500.215. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for the visa to the Minister for reconsideration, directing that the applicant had met this specific criterion.