TENG (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. The applicant, a national of Taiwan, sought to satisfy the criteria for the Graduate Work stream of this visa, which requires meeting the 'Australian study requirement' and ensuring that the qualifications used to meet this requirement are closely related to the applicant's nominated skilled occupation. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicant's completed courses met these specific criteria.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant had satisfied the Australian study requirement within the six months immediately preceding the visa application, and whether each degree, diploma, or trade qualification relied upon was closely related to the applicant's nominated occupation of Sous Chef. The applicant had completed several courses, including a Diploma of Leadership & Management and a Certificate IV in Leadership & Management, in addition to qualifications directly related to commercial cookery and hospitality.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant had obtained a TRA for Sous Chef and had relevant work experience, the crucial question was the relationship between the leadership and management qualifications and the nominated occupation. The applicant argued that a Sous Chef role involved leadership and management, budget control, and team supervision, extending beyond mere cooking. However, the Tribunal found that the leadership and management courses were completed more than six months before the visa application date. Furthermore, the Tribunal concluded that these specific courses were not closely related to the nominated occupation of Sous Chef, as required by the regulations.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, as the applicant failed to satisfy the relevant criteria for the Subclass 485 visa.