SUBRAMANI (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, in the Graduate Work stream. The applicant's nominated occupation was Primary Health Organisation Manager. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant met the requirement for a suitable skills assessment for this occupation.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's skills had been assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority, VETASSESS, within the preceding three years and if that assessment had not expired. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the outcome of the applicant's applications for a skills assessment and any subsequent appeal.

The Tribunal noted that the applicant's initial skills assessment application to VETASSESS in August 2016 was unsuccessful. A subsequent reassessment in January 2017 was also unsuccessful. The applicant then lodged an appeal in May 2017, and the Tribunal granted several extensions for the applicant to provide the outcome of this appeal. However, by August 2017, over 3.5 months after the appeal was lodged, no evidence had been provided to demonstrate that the applicant's skills had been assessed as suitable.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not satisfied the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa, specifically the requirement for a suitable skills assessment. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.