Or (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Child (Residence) (Class BT) visa, Subclass 802. The applicant sought to establish that they were a "dependent child" of an eligible sponsor. The Tribunal reviewed evidence from the Department of Home Affairs and its own case file, as well as evidence presented at the hearing.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant, for a substantial period before the relevant time, was dependent on the sponsor or her spouse. This required determining if the applicant met the definition of a "dependent child" as defined in regulation 1.03 and elaborated in regulation 1.05A of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess if the applicant was wholly or substantially reliant on the sponsor for financial support for basic needs, and if this reliance was greater than reliance on any other person or source of support.

The Tribunal reasoned that for the applicant to be considered dependent, they must have been wholly or substantially reliant on the sponsor for financial support for basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter) for a substantial period immediately preceding the assessment. Crucially, this reliance on the sponsor had to be greater than any reliance on other individuals or sources of financial support. The Tribunal found that the applicant's reliance on their grandmother and father for financial support was greater than any reliance on the sponsor, and therefore the criteria for being a dependent child were not met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Child (Residence) (Class BT) visa.