Nguyen (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for Other Family (Residence) (Class BU) visas. The applicant, born in Vietnam in 1965, sought to migrate to Australia to care for her mother, who is an Australian citizen. The applicant had been in Australia on various visas since 2001 and claimed to have been providing assistance to her mother since November 2012. The sponsor, the applicant's mother, is a Vietnamese-born Australian citizen with nine children, six of whom reside in Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the requirements of Regulation 1.15AA of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically concerning the inability to obtain or provide necessary assistance. This involved determining if the assistance required by the sponsor could not reasonably be provided by other relatives residing in Australia, or if it could not reasonably be obtained from Australian welfare, hospital, nursing, or community services. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant claimed to be the carer of an Australian relative, which was satisfied as the sponsor is an Australian citizen.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant's family circumstances and the sponsor's need for care were acknowledged, the evidence presented did not sufficiently demonstrate that assistance could not be reasonably obtained from welfare, hospital, nursing, or community services in Australia. The Tribunal noted a lack of evidence from relevant service providers and highlighted that the sponsor appeared to have unreasonably rejected available options, insisting only on the applicant's assistance. The Tribunal also addressed procedural matters, including the handling of non-disclosure certificates and an unreadable USB drive submitted by the applicant.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visas to the applicant and the other named applicants, finding that the criteria for the visas had not been satisfied.