Mpofu (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Residence) (Class VB) visa, specifically a Subclass 887 visa. The primary applicant sought to demonstrate that she had worked full-time in a specified regional area for at least one year as the holder of a specified skilled or bridging visa. The applicants provided extensive documentary evidence, including employment agreements, earnings statements, payslips, time sheets, bank statements, and notices of assessment.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the first named applicant had satisfied the requirements of clause 887.213 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that at the time of visa application, the applicant must have worked full-time in a specified regional area for a total of at least one year while holding one or more of the specified skilled or bridging visas. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's work in Mandurah, Western Australia, between her arrival on a Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Subclass 489) visa and her application date met these criteria, and if Mandurah constituted a "specified regional area" for the purposes of the visa.

The Tribunal found that the first named applicant held a Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) (class SP) (subclass 489) visa from 20 November 2015, and that her application for the Subclass 887 visa was made on 8 January 2018. It was satisfied that Mandurah, Western Australia, was a specified regional area under the relevant definition in clause 887.111, referencing IMMI 12/021 which designated the whole of Western Australia as a designated area. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had met the criteria under clause 887.213.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the applications for Skilled (Residence) (Class VB) visas for reconsideration. The direction was that the first named applicant met the criteria under clause 887.213, and the other named applicants met the criteria under clause 887.311.