Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, Graduate Work stream, by Mr. Singh. The applicant sought to have a decision affirmed that he did not meet the criteria for the visa. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicant's qualification was "closely related" to his nominated occupation as a Painting Trades Worker, and whether he had satisfied the Australian study requirement.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant had satisfied the Australian study requirement as defined by the Migration Regulations 1994, which involves completing registered courses over a specified period and duration. Secondly, and crucially, the Tribunal had to assess whether the applicant's Advanced Diploma of Marketing and Communication was "closely related" to his nominated occupation of Painting Trades Worker, as required by the visa subclass criteria.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had met the technical requirements of the Australian study requirement, having completed registered courses in English over a sufficient period and duration while holding a valid study visa. However, the Tribunal determined that the Advanced Diploma of Marketing and Communication was not closely related to the nominated occupation of Painting Trades Worker. The reasoning was that the skills acquired from a marketing and communication qualification did not align with the ANZSCO description of a Painting Trades Worker, nor with the skills typically associated with that occupation, even considering potential future business plans.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. The decision under review, which affirmed the refusal of the visa, was therefore affirmed by the Tribunal.