Sklavos (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Mr Sklavos concerning his application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) Subclass 820 visa. The dispute centred on whether Mr Sklavos had satisfied a specific public interest criterion related to his criminal history.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Sklavos had met the requirements of Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4001, as prescribed by regulation 2.03AA of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if Mr Sklavos had provided the necessary documentation requested by the Minister to demonstrate his criminal history status in Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that regulation 2.03AA(2) required an applicant, if requested, to provide either a statement from an appropriate authority regarding their criminal history or a completed Form 80. Although a request for an Australian Federal Police National Police Check was made to Mr Sklavos, he had not provided it at the time of the initial delegate's decision. However, the Tribunal received this National Police Certificate on 3 July 2019, which certified that there were no disclosable court outcomes against him as at 6 March 2019. As a Form 80 was not requested, the Tribunal found that the criterion in regulation 2.03AA(2) was satisfied by the provision of the police certificate.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration, directing that Mr Sklavos met the criterion specified in regulation 2.03AA of the Regulations.