Singh v Minister for Immigration

Singh (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning his application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Class RN) (subclass 187) visa. The Minister for Immigration (the respondent) was the opposing party. The core of the dispute revolved around the validity of the visa application in the absence of an approved nomination.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the AAT had committed a jurisdictional error in its assessment of the applicant's visa application. Specifically, the court was required to determine if the absence of an approved nomination for the subclass 187 visa rendered the application invalid from its inception, thereby precluding the AAT from having jurisdiction to consider it on its merits.

Justice Kendall found that the legislative framework governing the subclass 187 visa requires an approved nomination as a prerequisite for the application to be validly made. As the applicant had not obtained an approved nomination, his visa application was fundamentally flawed and incapable of being considered by the AAT. Consequently, the AAT had not erred in law by refusing to proceed with the substantive assessment of the application. The application for judicial review was therefore dismissed.