Lau (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse to grant the applicant a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The applicant had been requested to provide information by a specified date, which they failed to do. Consequently, the Tribunal conducted its own inquiries.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa, specifically clause 500.211, which requires the applicant to be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. The Tribunal also considered the weight to be given to information obtained from the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS).

The Tribunal reasoned that PRISMS is a reliable business record of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, used by the Department of Home Affairs as evidence of enrolment for student visa assessments. In the absence of contrary evidence, the Tribunal accepted the PRISMS search results, which indicated the applicant did not hold a current confirmation of enrolment in a registered course. The Tribunal also followed the procedural requirement to notify the applicant of this adverse information and invite a response, which the applicant again failed to provide.

Based on the lack of current enrolment as evidenced by PRISMS and the applicant's failure to provide any information to the contrary, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.