Sentenal Technologies (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Sentenal Technologies for approval as a standard business sponsor. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the criteria for approval, specifically the requirement to be lawfully operating a business in Australia. The Tribunal had previously requested updated information from the applicant regarding this criterion, but the communication was returned as undeliverable, and no response was received by the applicant.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the requirements for approval as a standard business sponsor under regulation 2.59 of the Migration Regulations 1994, particularly regulation 2.59(c), which mandates that the applicant be lawfully operating a business. The Tribunal also considered whether it should proceed to a decision without further information from the applicant, given the lack of communication.

The Tribunal reasoned that as no response was received from the applicant following its request for updated information, it lacked the necessary evidence to be satisfied that the applicant was lawfully operating a business at the time of the decision. The Tribunal confirmed that the email requesting information was sent to the applicant's last known email address and that no change of address had been recorded. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it could not be satisfied that regulation 2.59(c) had been met.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review not to approve the applicant as a standard business sponsor.