Manda (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision concerning an applicant for a Skilled Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visa, subclass 189. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the points test criterion for this visa subclass, which requires an applicant's score to be not less than the score stated in their invitation to apply and not less than the 'qualifying score'. The applicant had nominated the occupation of Cartographer.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant achieved the qualifying score under the points test, as prescribed by Schedule 6D to the Regulations and relevant legislative instruments. This involved assessing the applicant's eligibility for points based on attributes such as age and English language proficiency, applying the law in force at the time of the delegate's assessment and at the time of the Tribunal's assessment, and favouring the applicant where different. The Tribunal also had to consider the specific requirements for a nominated occupation to be considered 'skilled'.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was entitled to 30 points for age, as they were 31 years old at the time of invitation. However, the decision text does not detail the Tribunal's findings regarding the applicant's English language qualifications or the overall points assessment. The Tribunal ultimately affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants the Skilled Independent (Permanent) visas, indicating that the applicant did not satisfy the necessary criteria.