Patel (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream, for the position of Accountant. The applicant was nominated by STP Melville Financial Services Pty Ltd. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) was required to determine whether the applicant met the requirements of clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which pertains to the nomination of a position.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nomination met the specific criteria outlined in clause 187.233. This clause requires, among other things, that the nominated position be located in regional Australia, that the employer who made the nomination is the person who will employ the applicant, that the nomination has been approved and not withdrawn, that there is no adverse information known to Immigration about the nominator or associated persons, that the position remains available to the applicant, and that the visa application was made within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal found that the applicant met all the requirements of clause 187.233. It noted that the nomination was initially refused by the Department but that the Tribunal had previously set aside that refusal and substituted a decision approving the nomination. The Tribunal was satisfied that the nomination had not been withdrawn, the position remained available, and the visa application was lodged within the prescribed timeframe. Furthermore, there was no evidence of adverse information concerning the nominator or associated persons.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the first applicant meets the criteria under clause 187.233. The applications of any secondary applicants, who applied as members of the first applicant's family unit, were to be determined by reference to the outcome of the primary applicant's application upon remittal.