Sheila Baxter Training Centre Pty Ltd (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Sheila Baxter Training Centre Pty Ltd against a decision to refuse the approval of a nomination under the Direct Entry nomination stream. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the requirements of regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the nominator was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, and whether the nominee would be employed in the nominated position for at least two years full-time, with terms and conditions that did not expressly exclude the possibility of an extension. The Tribunal also considered whether there was a genuine need for the employment, as required by regulation 5.19(4)(h).

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the nomination. It found that there was insufficient evidence to satisfy it that the nominator continued to actively and lawfully operate a business in Australia, noting that the most recent financial information provided was from February 2018 and no updated information had been provided despite a request. Furthermore, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the nominee would be employed for at least two years full-time, as no employment contract had been provided to establish the terms and conditions of employment, nor had evidence of the applicant's financial capacity to offer such employment been presented. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not met the requirements of regulation 5.19(4)(b), (d), or (h), and therefore the nomination could not be approved.