Maharjan (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for this visa, specifically concerning their enrolment in a registered course of study.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the primary criterion set out in clause 500.211(a) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which requires an applicant to be enrolled in a full-time registered course of study at the time of the decision. The definition of a "course of study" under clause 500.111 necessitates it being a "full-time registered course," with "registered course" defined by reference to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), managed through the PRISMS system.

The Tribunal reasoned that PRISMS, a computer system maintained by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and used by the Department of Home Affairs, serves as a reliable record of enrolments for student visa assessments. In the absence of any specific evidence to the contrary in this particular case, the Tribunal accepted PRISMS as a trustworthy record. Based on the information available through PRISMS, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant was enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision, and therefore, clause 500.211 was not met. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the Subclass 500 (Student) visa.