SHEN (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of SHEN, an applicant for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa in the Graduate Work stream. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant satisfied the Australian study requirement, which mandates completion of qualifying study within the six months immediately preceding the visa application date.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the correct completion date of the applicant's Bachelor of Commerce degree from Deakin University for the purposes of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether the applicant met the requirement of completing his studies within the six months prior to lodging his visa application, given the university's initial stated completion date and subsequent information regarding a supplementary examination.

The Tribunal reasoned that the definition of "completed" in relation to a qualification means meeting the academic requirements for its award. While the applicant's initial documentation indicated a completion date of 7 July 2016, further evidence revealed he sat a supplementary exam on 27 July 2016, with the result entered into the university system on 2 August 2016. Although the system retained the 7 July 2016 date, the Tribunal considered the supplementary exam to be a critical event in fulfilling the academic requirements. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did meet the Australian study requirement as stipulated in clause 485.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

The Tribunal remitted the application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant had satisfied the Australian study requirement.