J&L Family Restaurant Pty Ltd (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by J&L Family Restaurant Pty Ltd (the applicant) against a decision to cancel its sponsorship approval. The dispute arose from the applicant's alleged failure to comply with its sponsorship obligations under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). The review was conducted by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal), with Member Lilly Mojsin presiding.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether a prescribed circumstance existed for taking action under section 140M of the Act, and if so, what action was appropriate. The delegate had found that the applicant failed to satisfy a sponsorship obligation by breaching several regulations, including failing to provide equivalent terms and conditions of employment, failing to keep records, failing to provide information to Immigration, and no longer meeting application or variation criteria. The applicant's standard business sponsorship had been approved on 22 March 2013 and expired on 22 March 2016.

The Tribunal considered sections 140K, 140L, and 140M of the Act, which provide for sanctions against approved sponsors. Regulation 2.89 outlines circumstances for taking action, including failure to satisfy sponsorship obligations, and sets out criteria to be considered when determining the appropriate action. These criteria include the nature and severity of the failure, its impact on others, whether it was intentional, and the steps taken to rectify or prevent future non-compliance. Similarly, Regulation 2.91 addresses circumstances where application or variation criteria are no longer met, also specifying criteria for consideration. The Tribunal found that the applicant had failed to satisfy its sponsorship obligations while it was an approved sponsor.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.