Jerome Mobile Engineers Pty Ltd (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by Jerome Mobile Engineers Pty Ltd (JME) for review of a decision to cancel its standard business sponsorship approval. The cancellation arose from JME's breach of its sponsorship obligations, which had led to a five-year bar being imposed. The decision under review was made by the Minister, and the case was heard by Member Mary Sheargold of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the power to take action under section 140M of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) had arisen in circumstances where JME had failed to satisfy its sponsorship obligations. This involved determining whether the preconditions for exercising the power under section 140M had been met, particularly in light of the specific criteria outlined in subregulation 2.89(3) of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

Member Sheargold reasoned that the power to take action under section 140M of the *Migration Act* did not arise because none of the circumstances for section 140L(1)(a) existed. The Tribunal considered various factors listed in subregulation 2.89(3) when assessing the situation, including the conduct of the sponsor, the nature and severity of the breach, and any steps taken to rectify the failure. However, the critical finding was that the prerequisite for the Minister's power to act under section 140M had not been established.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review. In substitution, the Tribunal made a decision not to take one or more of the actions specified in section 140M of the *Migration Act 1958*.