Nguyen v MICMSMA

The applicant, Nguyen, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) which affirmed a decision not to grant a Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visa. The application was brought under section 476 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit Court was whether the Tribunal had erred in its interpretation of regulation 1.05A(1)(a)(ii) of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). Specifically, the court had to determine if it was open to the Tribunal to consider financial support provided by two family members as a single source of financial support when assessing whether a dependent person's reliance on the visa sponsor was greater than their reliance on any other financial support. A secondary issue was whether, if the Tribunal's assessment was not open to it, this error was material to its decision. The court also considered whether the provision of rent-free accommodation constituted "financial support" for the purposes of the regulation.

Judge Manousaridis reasoned that the Tribunal was entitled to assess the financial support from two family members as a single source for the purpose of the regulation. The court found that the provision of rent-free accommodation did indeed constitute financial support. As the Tribunal's assessment was open to it and the provision of rent-free accommodation was correctly characterised as financial support, any potential error in assessing the combined support from two family members was not material to the ultimate decision.

Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.