Maddukuri (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa, Post-Study Work stream. The applicant had completed their qualification on 10 July 2020, which was within six months of applying for the visa. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant's study satisfied the Australian study requirement in the six months immediately preceding the visa application. The decision was made by Jade Murphy, a Member of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the requirements of clause 485.231 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that an applicant must hold a qualification specified by the Minister, conferred by a specified educational institution, and that their study for that qualification must have satisfied the Australian study requirement in the six months prior to the visa application. The Tribunal specifically considered whether the applicant held a specified qualification, whether it was awarded by a specified institution, and crucially, whether the Australian study requirement was met.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that the applicant's Master of Information Technology (Computer Networking) was a specified qualification and that it was awarded by Charles Sturt University, a specified educational institution, thus satisfying subclauses 485.231(1) and (2). Regarding the Australian study requirement under subclause 485.231(3) and regulation 1.15F(1), the Tribunal noted the definition of satisfying this requirement, which includes completing registered courses totalling at least 16 calendar months, involving at least two academic years of study, with all instruction in English, and undertaken in Australia on a visa authorising study. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant met clause 485.231.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application for reconsideration by the Minister, with the direction that the applicant had met the criterion specified in clause 485.231 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.