Soemali (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the application of Mr Soemali for a Child (Residence) (Class BT) visa, subclass 802. The dispute concerned the AAT's decision to remit the matter back to the Department of Home Affairs for further consideration, following the applicant's failure to provide a satisfactory police check. The AAT had previously found that the applicant's sponsor had an approved sponsorship but that a limitation applied to that sponsorship.

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether the applicant had satisfied the character requirements for the visa, specifically concerning the disclosure of any criminal charges or convictions. This involved an assessment of the adequacy of the police check provided by the applicant, which was an Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Police Certificate indicating no disclosable court outcomes.

The AAT reasoned that while the AFP National Police Certificate stated no disclosable court outcomes, this did not necessarily mean there were no charges or convictions. The Tribunal was required to be satisfied that the applicant met the character provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). Given the potential for ambiguity or incompleteness in police checks, and the serious nature of character requirements in migration law, the AAT determined that it was appropriate to remit the matter to the Department to obtain further information and make a fresh decision. The AAT's decision was to set aside the original decision and remit the application to the Department of Home Affairs for reconsideration.