Parra Ruiz (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Parra Ruiz concerning an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant sought to satisfy the primary criteria for this visa, specifically clause 485.224 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which pertains to the applicant's skills in relation to their nominated skilled occupation.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had met the requirements of clause 485.224(1), which mandates that an applicant's skills for their nominated occupation must have been assessed as suitable by a relevant assessing authority within the preceding three years, and that any validity period for such an assessment must not have expired. The Tribunal also considered the definition of a "skilled occupation" and the identity of the "relevant assessing authority" as stipulated by the Regulations and relevant legislative instruments.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant had nominated Motor Mechanic (General) as their skilled occupation, and Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) was the specified assessing authority, the applicant had initially failed to provide the Department with a skills assessment. Despite a request from the Department for this evidence, which was not met within the stipulated timeframe, the applicant subsequently provided the Tribunal with a TRA skills assessment dated 12 December 2019, indicating a successful provisional assessment for the nominated occupation. The Tribunal found that this assessment met the requirements of clause 485.224(1) as there was no indication it had expired. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa applications for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under clause 485.224(1).