Quimson (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding an Employer Nomination (Permanent) visa (Subclass 186). The primary applicant was Mrs Gerlie De La Cruz Quimson, and the secondary applicant was her son, Master Jairo Jabez De La Cruz. The central dispute revolved around whether Mrs Quimson met Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4007, which requires visa applicants to be free from certain diseases or conditions that could pose a threat to public health or community services in Australia.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mrs Quimson satisfied PIC 4007, given that her son had acquired Australian citizenship. This meant that the requirement for him to meet PIC 4007 was no longer applicable, but it remained a crucial criterion for Mrs Quimson as the primary applicant for the permanent visa. The Tribunal also had to consider the specific requirements of PIC 4007, including the need for a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) opinion in certain circumstances, and the obligation to treat such an opinion as correct unless it was demonstrably flawed in its application of the statutory criteria.

The Tribunal reasoned that as Master Jairo Jabez De La Cruz had been granted Australian citizenship, the primary issue for review was Mrs Quimson's compliance with PIC 4007. The Tribunal noted that Mrs Quimson had been found to have asymptomatic chronic viral Hepatitis B. The Tribunal was required to seek a MOC opinion for a permanent visa application where there was information suggesting the applicant might not meet the health requirements. The Tribunal acknowledged that while a MOC opinion is generally taken as correct, it must first be satisfied that the MOC applied the correct legal test.

Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration. The decision directed that the application for the Subclass 186 visa be reconsidered, with the finding that the first named applicant, Mrs Gerlie De La Cruz Quimson, met PIC 4007 for the purposes of clause 186.224(2) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.