VAIDYA (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Skilled Nominated (Permanent) (Class SN) visa, subclass 190. The applicant had nominated the occupation of Advertising Manager and claimed to have achieved the qualifying score under the points test. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the specific score requirements stipulated in their invitation to apply for the visa, as well as the general qualifying score.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied the points test criteria, specifically whether their assessed score was not less than the score stated in the invitation to apply and not less than the qualifying score. This involved assessing the applicant's qualifications and points against the relevant regulations and legislative instruments in force at the time of the delegate's and the Tribunal's assessments, applying the more favourable provisions where applicable. The qualifying score was 60, while the invitation score was 65. The Tribunal also had to consider the definition of a "skilled occupation" and whether the nominated occupation of Advertising Manager met these requirements.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the points allocated for age and English language proficiency. The applicant, aged 30 at the time of invitation, was awarded 30 points for age. For English language, the applicant provided an IELTS test result from 7 February 2015, with scores of 8.5 for listening, 7.5 for reading, 7.0 for writing, and 7.5 for speaking. The Tribunal applied the provisions of Subdivision B of Division 3 of Part 2 of the Act and Schedule 6D to the Regulations, along with Legislative Instrument IMMI 15/091.

Ultimately, the Tribunal found that the applicant's assessed score was less than the score stated in the invitation to apply for the visa. As this was a prescribed criterion for the grant of the visa under clause 190.214, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.