Reyes (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant's eligibility for this visa depended on meeting specific criteria, including the Australian study requirement and the requirement that their qualifications be closely related to their nominated occupation. The primary dispute before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied these two crucial requirements.

The Tribunal was tasked with determining two key legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant had met the "Australian study requirement" as defined by the Migration Regulations, which involves completing registered courses in Australia for a specified duration and under particular conditions. Secondly, the Tribunal had to assess whether each degree, diploma, or trade qualification relied upon by the applicant was "closely related" to their nominated skilled occupation, which in this instance was Chef.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal examined the applicant's evidence of completed courses, including a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery, Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery, Diploma of Hospitality Management, and an Advanced Diploma of Business. The Tribunal found that the Advanced Diploma of Business, with a duration of 100 weeks, satisfied the minimum requirement of 92 weeks for two academic years of study, thus meeting the Australian study requirement under regulation 1.15F(1). The Tribunal also concluded that the applicant's qualifications were closely related to the nominated occupation of Chef, finding the relationship between the units of study and the job tasks to be more than merely complementary. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant had met the criteria under clauses 485.221 and 485.222 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.