The Trustee for Plus One Solution Trust (Migration)

The case involved an application for approval of a nomination for a Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa in the Direct Entry stream. The applicant, The Trustee for Plus One Solution Trust, sought to nominate Ms Tazeen Mahmood for the position of Developer Programmer. The matter came before the Tribunal for review of a decision to refuse the nomination.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the general requirements for nomination approval under reg 5.19(4) and the specific requirements for the Direct Entry stream under reg 5.19(9) of the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the nominator was actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia and if the business had the financial capacity to employ the nominated person for at least two years.

The Tribunal found that the applicant failed to provide updated evidence of its financial circumstances when requested, relying instead on outdated documents. The fact that the applicant's ABN was not registered for GST also raised concerns about its active operation. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant was actively and lawfully operating a business, a prerequisite under reg 5.19(9)(a). This failure also meant that reg 5.19(4)(f), which requires meeting the Direct Entry stream requirements, was not met. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted a lack of current information about the nominee and insufficient evidence of the business's financial capacity to employ the nominated person full-time for at least two years, as required by regs 5.19(9)(e) and (g).

As the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant met the necessary requirements under regulation 5.19, it affirmed the decision under review to refuse the nomination.