PAUDEL (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Mr. Paudel for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically under the Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa, Post-Study Work stream. The central dispute concerned whether Mr. Paudel satisfied the Australian study requirement, as defined by clause 485.231(3) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr. Paudel's completion of two distinct Master's degrees, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Professional Accounting (MPA), each of 78 weeks duration, and undertaken concurrently, met the Australian study requirement. This involved considering whether the concurrent study of the same subjects for both qualifications, despite each being registered separately on CRICOS, constituted a valid fulfilment of the requirement, particularly in light of any recognition of prior learning.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Paudel met the criterion specified in cl.485.231(3). The reasoning, though not fully detailed in the provided text, appears to have accepted that the concurrent completion of the two qualifications, registered separately on CRICOS, satisfied the study duration requirement. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that this specific criterion for the Subclass 485 visa had been met.