Solari (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr Solari, who sought an Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class EN) visa, Subclass 186, under the Direct Entry stream, for the occupation of Minister of Religion. The dispute centred on whether Mr Solari possessed the necessary qualifications and experience for this visa subclass, following a negative skills assessment outcome.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr Solari met the eligibility criteria for the Subclass 186 visa, specifically in light of changes to the Direct Entry stream that came into effect on 1 July 2015. These changes mandated that occupations, including Minister of Religion, were no longer exempt from the requirement of a skills assessment by a nominating assessing service. The central legal issue was whether Mr Solari's submitted skills assessment from Vetassess, which was negative, satisfied the visa requirements.

The Tribunal reasoned that, from 1 July 2015, applicants for the Subclass 186 visa under the Direct Entry stream for the occupation of Minister of Religion were required to obtain a positive skills assessment. Mr Solari’s nominated assessing authority, Vetassess, provided a negative assessment of his qualifications and employment. While Mr Solari submitted substantial supporting material, including testimonials and letters of support, the Tribunal found that this material did not address the negative skills assessment outcome. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Solari had not complied with clause 186.234 of Part 186 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which mandates a positive skills assessment.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Mr Solari the Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class EN) visa.