Mallikarachchi (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a migration matter involving an applicant seeking a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, subclass 187, under the Direct Entry stream for the position of Hardware Technician. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the criteria for the nomination, which had initially been refused by the Department but was subsequently approved by the Tribunal on review.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant satisfied clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which outlines the requirements for a nomination in the Direct Entry stream. This clause mandates that the nominated position must be located in regional Australia, be the subject of an approved nomination that has not been withdrawn, and that there must be no adverse information known to Immigration concerning the nominator or associated persons, or such information must be reasonable to disregard. Additionally, the position must remain available to the applicant, and the visa application must have been lodged within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the nomination had initially been refused, a subsequent review by the AAT resulted in the refusal decision being set aside and the nomination being approved. Based on this, the Tribunal found that all subclauses of clause 187.233 were met, including that the employer, CompuAid IT Services Pty Ltd, had made the nomination, the position was still available, and the visa application was made within the prescribed timeframe after the nomination's approval.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa applications for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the first applicant met the criteria under clause 187.233 for a subclass 187 visa. The applications of the second and third applicants, who were family members, were to be determined by reference to the outcome of the first applicant's application.