Rosingana Varea (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an appeal by Rosingana Varea against a decision by a delegate to refuse a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485. The refusal was based on the applicant's failure to provide a "Complete Disclosure Australian Federal Police Certificate" as requested by the delegate.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied regulation 2.03AA(2)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires a statement from an appropriate authority providing evidence about whether the person has a criminal history. The Tribunal also considered whether regulation 2.03AA(2)(b) applied, which relates to the provision of a completed approved Form 80.

The Tribunal found that while the applicant initially provided a "Standard Disclosure" instead of the requested "Complete Disclosure" AFP certificate, they subsequently provided a "National Police Certificate – Immigration/Citizenship certificate" issued by the AFP. This certificate certified that there were no disclosable outcomes recorded against the applicant as at 11 October 2021. The Tribunal concluded that this later certificate constituted the statement from an appropriate authority sought by the delegate, thereby satisfying regulation 2.03AA(2)(a). Furthermore, the Tribunal noted there was no evidence that the delegate had requested a completed Form 80, meaning regulation 2.03AA(2)(b) was not applicable. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under regulation 2.03AA(2).