ISMAIL, AHMER ARIF (Migration)

This matter concerned a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of a decision to refuse a nomination under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The applicant was Mr. Ahmer Arif Ismail, and the dispute centred on whether the requirements for approval of the nomination, as set out in regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994, were met.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the nominator, Ahmer Arif Ismail trading as Python Tech, was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia at the time of the decision. This was a crucial requirement under regulation 5.19(3)(b)(ii). The Tribunal also considered whether the nominator met other criteria, including the absence of adverse information known to the Department, as stipulated in regulation 5.19(3)(g).

The Tribunal reasoned that the evidence before it indicated that the Australian Business Number (ABN) for the nominator had been cancelled since January 2019, and the business's trading name was cancelled in May 2019. Furthermore, information received suggested the business had closed. In the absence of any current substantive evidence to the contrary, and with the nominator not appearing to provide evidence or arguments, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the nominator was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the requirements of regulation 5.19(3)(b)(ii) were not met.

As a result of the failure to satisfy this essential criterion, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the requirements for the nomination approval under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The applicant had not sought to satisfy the criteria for the Direct Entry nomination stream, meaning regulation 5.19(4) was also not met. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination.