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 of a position under the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The applicant sought to have a previous decision reviewed and set aside. The Tribunal was presented with extensive documentation relating to the applicant's business operations, financial standing, and employment of the nominee, Mrs Ramneet Kaur Walia, who held a Subclass 457 visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met all the requirements for the approval of the nomination as stipulated in regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing compliance with various criteria, including the form and content of the application, the nominee's visa status and employment history, the nominator's business operations, and the terms and conditions of employment. A key aspect of the assessment concerned the nominator's training obligations.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's demonstrated compliance with the relevant regulations. It was satisfied that the application was made in the approved form, accompanied by the prescribed fee, and correctly identified the nominee and occupation. Crucially, the Tribunal found that the applicant had provided sufficient evidence of its compliance with training requirements during its most recent approval as a standard business sponsor, and that legislative amendments meant that specific training benchmarks were no longer a mandatory requirement for approval.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision approving the nomination.