Milenkovic (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for review of a decision not to approve the applicant as a parent sponsor for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (Class GH) visa, Subclass 870. The applicant sought to combine her income with that of her partner to satisfy the income test requirements for sponsorship.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the income test as prescribed by regulation 2.60W of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant's taxable income, when combined with her partner's, met the prescribed amount, and crucially, if the applicant's own taxable income was at least half of that prescribed amount for the relevant income year. The relevant instrument stipulated a required taxable income of $83,454.80 for the most recent completed taxable income year prior to the lodgement of the application.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the combined income of the applicant and her partner for the 2017-18 income year exceeded the prescribed amount, the applicant failed to meet the requirement that her individual taxable income be at least half of the prescribed amount, which equated to $41,727.40. The evidence presented showed the applicant's taxable income for that year was $20,276, which was below the required threshold. Although a payslip from August 2019 was provided, it was not from the relevant income year and therefore insufficient to demonstrate compliance with the individual income requirement.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the original decision, finding that the applicant did not meet the income test requirements for parent sponsorship.