Palley (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Palley for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), under the Direct Entry stream. The central dispute concerned whether Palley met the English language proficiency requirement for this visa subclass.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Palley possessed "competent English" as defined by the Migration Regulations. This required either achieving a specified score in a recognised English language test within three years of the visa application, or holding a specified passport. The Tribunal also considered whether the circumstances warranted a referral to the Minister, as requested by the applicant.

The Tribunal reasoned that Palley's PTE Academic English test results from 20 February 2015 did not meet the required score of 50 in each of the four components, specifically noting a score of 46 in the reading component. A subsequent test result from 24 June 2016, which did meet the criteria, was provided after the visa application date and therefore could not be considered. The Tribunal found that Palley had not satisfied the competent English requirement under clause 187.232 of the relevant legislative instrument. While sympathetic to the applicant's employer's letter highlighting his importance, the Tribunal concluded that the circumstances did not warrant a referral to the Minister.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Palley the Subclass 187 visa under the Direct Entry stream, as the essential criteria had not been met.