The Trustee for Aarav and Shanaya Unit Trust (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, constituted by Member De-Anne Kelly, considered an application by The Trustee for Aarav and Shanaya Unit Trust concerning a Direct Entry nomination stream for a Retail Manager position. The dispute arose from the refusal of the nomination, which the applicant sought to have reviewed. The core of the matter was whether the applicant, as the nominator, satisfied the requirements stipulated in regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for approval of the nomination under the Direct Entry stream. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess if the nominator was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, and if the nominated position's tasks corresponded to the occupation specified by the Minister. Furthermore, the Tribunal needed to consider whether the nominator had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the financial capacity to employ the nominee full-time for at least two years, and whether the terms of employment allowed for potential extension.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the lack of current and up-to-date evidence provided by the applicant. Despite requests for updated financial information, including tax returns and BAS statements, the applicant submitted only documents relating to the 2017 financial year. Consequently, the Tribunal was unable to be satisfied that the applicant was actively operating a business or that they possessed the financial capacity to employ the nominee for the required two-year period. The Tribunal applied regulation 5.19(4)(b)(i) and 5.19(4)(d)(i), finding that these requirements were not met due to the insufficient and outdated evidence.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination.