Teoh (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding a decision to refuse a Subclass 888 (Business Innovation) visa. The primary applicant, Ms. Teoh, sought to demonstrate that she continued to have an ownership interest in an actively operating main business in Australia, as required by clause 888.222 of the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal was required to determine whether this criterion was met at the time of its decision.

The central legal issue was whether Ms. Teoh satisfied the requirement under cl.888.222(1)(b) that she "continues to have the ownership interest in the actively operating main business." This criterion is a "time of decision" requirement, meaning it must be satisfied at the date the Tribunal makes its determination. The Tribunal had to consider the status of Ms. Teoh's nominated business, Cool Asian Food Pty Ltd (trading as Laksa Bar Little Lonsdale), at the time of its decision in May 2024.

The Tribunal found that while Ms. Teoh had met the initial ownership and involvement requirements for her nominated business at the time of her visa application in December 2019, the business had ceased operating in November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the company, Cool Asian Food Pty Ltd, went into liquidation in February 2021. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Ms. Teoh no longer held an ownership interest in an actively operating main business, thus failing to satisfy cl.888.222(1)(b). As this was a primary criterion for the visa, Ms. Teoh did not meet the requirements for the Subclass 888 visa. The Tribunal also affirmed the refusal of visas for her husband and children, as they did not meet the secondary criteria and had not demonstrated they met the primary criteria in their own right.