STUDENT BIRYANI PTY LTD (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a nomination application made by Student Biryani Pty Ltd for a Corporate General Manager position, with Javed Muhammad as the proposed nominee. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the requirements for approval under the Temporary Residence Transition nomination stream, as set out in regulation 5.19(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if Student Biryani Pty Ltd had satisfied all the necessary criteria for the nomination to be approved. This involved assessing whether the nominated position aligned with the nominee's skills and experience, and crucially, whether the nominator possessed the financial capacity to pay the nominated full-time salary for the position. The Tribunal also had to consider adverse information that had come to the Department's attention regarding the applicant.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the duties of the proposed nominee did align with the role of a Corporate General Manager, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate the nominator's financial capacity to pay the required salary. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered adverse information, including allegations of wage manipulation and a lack of permanent staff, which had been presented to the applicant under section 359AA of the Migration Act 1958. Despite submissions and further evidence provided by the applicant, including financial statements showing significant profits, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the nominator could meet the requirements of regulation 5.19(3)(d)(i), which mandates that the nominee will be employed full-time for at least two years.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination. The applicant had not satisfied the criteria for the nomination to be approved under the Temporary Residence Transition stream.