Mohideen (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mohideen, an applicant for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate). The central dispute concerned whether the applicant had met a specific timeframe requirement for providing an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check with his visa application.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied clause 485.213 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates that a visa application must be accompanied by evidence that the applicant, and any accompanying persons aged 16 or over, had applied for an Australian Federal Police check within the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the application. The applicant had lodged his application on 11 October 2018, answering "no" to having applied for an AFP check in the preceding 12 months and not providing such evidence at that time.

The Tribunal reasoned that the plain wording of clause 485.213 required the AFP check application to have occurred within the specified 12-month period prior to lodging the visa application. While the applicant later provided a national police history check dated 25 October 2018, this document did not satisfy the timeframe requirement as it was applied for after the visa application was lodged. The Tribunal noted the applicant's submission that the online application system's instructions were unclear and that he believed he could submit documentation later. However, the Tribunal found that the applicable law did not grant it the power to waive this mandatory requirement.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a subclass 485 visa. The decision under review, which affirmed the refusal to grant the visa, was therefore affirmed.