Sajjad (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding a decision to refuse a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, Subclass 590 (Guardian). The applicant, Anusha Sajjad, sought review of this refusal, which was primarily based on concerns about financial capacity and genuine access to funds.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant, through her family members, had demonstrated genuine access to sufficient funds to meet the financial capacity requirements for the Subclass 590 visa. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider evidence of funds held in the bank account of Anusha Sajjad's adult brother, Syed Ali, and whether these funds could be considered genuinely available to support the applicant and her mother, who was also a student guardian.

The Tribunal considered new evidence presented prior to the hearing, namely Westpac Bank statements for Syed Ali showing a substantial balance. The Tribunal noted a potential error by the Department delegate in calculating the required funds. Syed Ali provided evidence of his income from retail and restaurant businesses, and stated he had sufficient income to support his family, including his mother and sister, while they were in Australia. Given this new evidence and the explanation provided by Syed Ali, the Tribunal was satisfied that the financial capacity criterion was met.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration, directing that the applicant meets the financial capacity criteria as stipulated in clause 590.216 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.