Sandip Kaur (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Sandip Kaur, an applicant for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa, in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant nominated the occupation of Chef (ANZSCO 351311) and sought to satisfy the primary criteria under clause 485.222 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which requires that any degree, diploma, or trade qualification used to meet the Australian study requirement be 'closely related' to the nominated skilled occupation.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's qualifications were indeed 'closely related' to the nominated occupation of Chef. The Tribunal was required to interpret the meaning of 'closely related' in the context of migration law, considering established case law. This involved determining how to assess the relationship between the applicant's qualifications and the nominated occupation, and whether the entirety of the studies needed to be compared with the entirety of the occupation.

The Tribunal reasoned that the term 'closely related' does not require an exact correspondence but must be more than merely complementary. It emphasised that the assessment must focus on the nominated occupation as defined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), including relevant higher groupings, and that the decision-maker is entitled to give substantial weight to ANZSCO descriptions. The Tribunal also noted that the assessment should be objective, based on the applicant's qualifications and the ANZSCO definition, rather than the applicant's subjective views. Furthermore, where multiple qualifications are used, each must be closely related to the nominated occupation, and the entire body of studies must be compared with the entire nominated occupation.

Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa because her qualifications were not found to be closely related to the nominated occupation of Chef. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.