MACENA (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) – Post-Study Work stream. The applicant sought review of a decision that affirmed the refusal of her visa application. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicant met the Australian study requirement for the visa.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant held a qualification of a kind specified by the Minister, whether that qualification was conferred by a specified educational institution, and crucially, whether the applicant's study for that qualification satisfied the Australian study requirement. The Australian study requirement, as defined by regulation 1.15F(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994, necessitates the completion of registered courses totalling at least 16 calendar months, involving at least two academic years of study, with all instruction in English, undertaken in Australia while holding a study-authorising visa.

The Tribunal found that while the applicant held a Master of International Communication degree from Macquarie University, both of which were specified in the relevant ministerial instruments, she failed to meet the Australian study requirement. The applicant's qualification was registered as having a duration of 78 academic weeks, which did not satisfy the requirement of at least two academic years of study. The applicant acknowledged a misunderstanding of this requirement.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. The decision under review was therefore affirmed.