MAGINNIS (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding an Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class EN) visa, specifically the Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) in its Temporary Residence Transition stream. The primary applicant, Ms Erin Maginnis, sought this visa as a hairdresser, with her application being subject to the approval of a nomination by her employer, Barney Martin Hairdressing Pty Ltd. The dispute arose after the Department of Immigration initially refused the nomination, leading to the refusal of the visa applications.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms Maginnis met the requirements of clause 186.223 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause outlines several conditions for the nominated position, including that the nomination must have been approved and not withdrawn, that there must be no adverse information known to Immigration about the nominator or associated persons (or such information must be disregarded), that the position must remain available to the applicant, and that the visa application must have been lodged within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal found that the requirements of clause 186.223 were met. It was satisfied that Barney Martin Hairdressing Pty Ltd, the nominator, had its nomination for the Hairdresser position approved by the Tribunal on 10 September 2019, and this approval had not been withdrawn. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted the absence of adverse information concerning the nominator and confirmed that the position remained available to Ms Maginnis. Crucially, the visa application was lodged on 23 June 2017, which was within the six-month timeframe after the nomination's approval.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa applications for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that Ms Maginnis meets the criteria under clause 186.223. The application of Mr Alexander Maginnis, as a member of Ms Maginnis's family unit, would be determined based on the outcome of her application following this remittal.