KDM Group of Companies Pty Ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by KDM Group of Companies Pty Ltd for approval of a nomination under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The dispute centred on whether the company met the requirement of employing the nominee for at least two years, with the employer's wage expenditure being a key point of contention. The Tribunal was tasked with reviewing the decision to refuse the nomination.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if KDM Group of Companies Pty Ltd had satisfied all the requirements of regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically concerning the duration of employment and the commensurate wage expenditure for its workers. This involved scrutinising the financial and employment documentation provided by the applicant to ascertain compliance with the stipulated criteria for the Temporary Residence Transition nomination stream.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided substantial documentation, including PAYG payment summaries, payroll activity summaries, profit and loss statements, tax returns, and bank statements for the relevant financial years. It also considered evidence relating to part-time workers, unpaid leave, and employee medical certificates and leave requests. The Tribunal concluded that the employer's wage expenditure, when properly calculated to include part-time employees and periods of unpaid leave, was commensurate with the number of workers employed. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision and substituted a decision approving the nomination.