Lacaden (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa, by the applicant, Lacaden. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had satisfied the Australian study requirement as stipulated by the relevant regulations. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was tasked with reviewing the delegate's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for the Australian study requirement under regulation 1.15F(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This requirement necessitates the completion of registered courses in Australia, undertaken while holding a study-authorised visa, over a total of at least 16 calendar months and comprising at least two academic years of study, with all instruction conducted in English. The applicant's nominated qualification was a Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery, with course dates spanning from 24 April 2017 to 21 September 2018.

The Tribunal considered the definition of an "academic year" as at least 46 weeks, and noted that the delegate had found the applicant had not met the two academic year requirement because the course was registered for only 90 weeks. However, the Tribunal found that the CRICOS website listed the course duration as 102 weeks, and a check of the PRISMS database also supported this longer duration. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had met the Australian study requirement as defined by clause 485.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant had met the Australian study requirement. The Minister was to consider the remaining criteria for the visa.