Son (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered whether an applicant for a Distinguished Talent (Residence) visa had an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in sport as a swimming coach at the time of their visa application on 8 June 2017.

The Tribunal was required to determine the meaning of "internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement" as it appeared in clause 858.212(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994, given that this phrase was not defined within the Regulations. The Tribunal also had to consider the applicability of existing case law, such as *Gaffar v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs*, to the specific wording of the current clause.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal referred to dictionary definitions of "exceptional" and "outstanding" to understand their ordinary meanings. It noted that while case law, such as *Gaffar's case*, established that an exceptional record of achievement requires demonstrated excellence that is out of the ordinary, this precedent had limited application because it concerned different wording in a previous regulation. The Tribunal acknowledged that the standard required would vary across professions and activities, and that exceptional circumstances are those that are unusual or set a person apart from others in a comparable situation.

The Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration by the Department, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria in clause 858.212 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.