MAUWA (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Skilled (Residence) (Class VB) visa, Subclass 886, made by an applicant who nominated the occupation of Computing Professional (nec) (ASCO Code 2231-79). The dispute centred on whether the applicant had met the requirement for a skills assessment by the relevant assessing authority, the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had satisfied clause 886.223(1) of the Migration Regulations, which mandates that an applicant's skills for the nominated occupation must have been assessed as suitable by a relevant assessing authority. This clause includes an additional requirement if the skills assessment was based on a qualification obtained in Australia while the applicant held a student visa. The Tribunal also considered the definition of a "skilled occupation" and a "relevant assessing authority" as stipulated by the regulations and relevant ministerial instruments.

The Tribunal noted that the applicant had initially obtained a skills assessment from the ACS in 2009 for "ICT Recent Graduate (ASCO 2231-79)". However, the ACS had subsequently updated its assessment framework to ANZSCO. The applicant then obtained a further assessment from the ACS in 2015 for "ICT Managers nec (ANZSCO 135199)". The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided evidence of a positive skills assessment from the ACS, which was a specified assessing authority for the nominated occupation.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for the Skilled (Residence) (Class VB) visa, Subclass 886, for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that the applicant be taken to have met criterion cl.886.223(1) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.