Kaur v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services & Multicultural Affairs

The applicant, an Indian national, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirming the refusal of her visa application. The applicant had arrived in Australia in 2009 and applied for a visa to work as a Graphic Pre-press Trades Worker. Her employer, Print a Portal Pty Ltd, had applied to nominate the position, but this nomination was refused by a delegate of the Minister. Subsequently, the applicant's visa application was also refused. The AAT affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the visa. The applicant then filed an application for review in the Federal Circuit Court.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the AAT had erred in affirming the refusal of the applicant's visa application. A related issue concerned the competency of a separate application for review filed by the applicant's employer, Print a Portal Pty Ltd, which was heard concurrently.

Blake J dismissed the applicant's application for review. His Honour reasoned that a crucial criterion for the visa, as stipulated by clause 187.233(3) of Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994, required an approved nomination at the time of the decision. This criterion could only be satisfied by the approval of the original nomination and could not be met by a new nomination application lodged subsequently. Therefore, even if there had been any error in the AAT's reasoning, the matter would not be remitted to the Tribunal as the essential requirement of an approved nomination could not be retrospectively satisfied. The Court found that the applicant's application failed to raise an arguable case.

The application for review was dismissed under rule 44.12(1)(a) of the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001. The Minister was awarded costs in the sum of $3,737.