Liang (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant for a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa against the decision of the Department not to grant the visa. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had complied with a specific documentary requirement of the visa application. The decision was made by Jade Murphy, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied clause 485.213 of the applicable regulations. This clause required that a visa application for a Subclass 485 visa be accompanied by evidence that the applicant, and any other person included in the application aged 16 or over, had applied for an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check within the 12 months immediately preceding the date the visa application was lodged.

The Tribunal found that the applicant lodged his visa application on 15 October 2018 and answered "no" to the question of whether he had applied for an AFP check in the preceding 12 months, nor did he provide any documentary evidence of such an application. While the applicant later obtained an AFP check dated 14 January 2019, which confirmed no criminal record, this check was not applied for within the required 12-month period before the visa application was made. The Tribunal noted the applicant's submission that this was an inadvertent misunderstanding and that he had not been afforded an opportunity to submit missing documents, but concluded that the plain wording of the regulation mandated compliance with the timeframe. As the applicant did not satisfy this mandatory requirement, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.