Saburi (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, made by an applicant with a criminal history. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had provided a statement from an appropriate authority regarding their criminal history, as required by the regulations.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had satisfied regulation 2.03AA(2) of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether the applicant had provided a statement from an appropriate authority in Australia that evidenced whether or not they had a criminal history.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed provided a statement from an appropriate authority. The delegate had requested an Immigration/Citizenship Certificate from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which is considered an appropriate authority for this purpose. The applicant submitted a certificate dated 29 October 2021, issued by the AFP, which stated there were no disclosable court outcomes recorded against the applicant's name. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant satisfied regulation 2.03AA(2)(a). As there was no evidence that the delegate had requested a completed Form 80, regulation 2.03AA(2)(b) was not applicable.

Based on these findings, the Tribunal remitted the application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that the applicant be considered to meet the criteria under regulation 2.03AA(2).