Snoobar Pty Ltd ATF Bou Mansour Trust (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by Snoobar Pty Ltd ATF Bou Mansour Trust for approval of a nomination for a position as a Café or Restaurant Manager under the Direct Entry Nomination stream. The applicant had nominated Mr Ram Kumar Adhikarai for this position. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met all the requirements for approval of the nomination as set out in regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, as required by regulation 5.19(4)(b)(i). The applicant's representative, Mr Mansour, indicated that the applicant was not currently operating a business. He explained that the business had ceased operations due to personal issues, including a divorce and division of assets, which led to financial struggles and the sale of one restaurant, followed by the closure of the second restaurant due to external construction works. Mr Mansour also confirmed he had lost contact with the nominee.

The Tribunal reasoned that for the nomination to be approved, all requirements of regulation 5.19(4) must be met. It was not satisfied that the applicant was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia at the time of the review, a key criterion under regulation 5.19(4)(b)(i). The Tribunal noted that the business had been shut for some time and there was no evidence of imminent plans to re-establish it. Consequently, the identified need for the nominated position, which was based on an actively operating business at the time of the original nomination, no longer existed. The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination.