Raju (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a Skilled Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visa, Subclass 189, made by Mr. Raju and his family. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicants had provided sufficient documentation, specifically a notice of tax assessment, with their visa application. While the notice of assessment was not initially provided, a copy was later received by the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it could make a decision in favour of the applicants without holding a hearing, as permitted by section 360(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to determine if the available material was sufficient to find that the applicants met the criteria for the visa, particularly clause 189.232 of Schedule 2 to the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth), which relates to the requirements for a Subclass 189 visa.

The Tribunal concluded that it was able to make a decision in favour of the applicants based on the material before it, without the necessity of a hearing. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration with a direction that the first applicant meets the specified criteria for a Subclass 189 visa.