VALLAPUREDDY (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs Vallapureddy against the refusal of her application for a Temporary Graduate Post Study Work visa (subclass 485). The applicant had completed a Master of Business Administration and lodged her visa application on 22 July 2019. The delegate refused the application on 26 August 2019, finding that she had failed to meet criterion 485.213, which mandates that an application must be accompanied by evidence that all persons included in the application, aged 16 years or over, have applied for an Australian Federal Police Check within the 12 months prior to the application date. The Tribunal was tasked with conducting a fresh review of the applicant's eligibility for the visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mrs Vallapureddy had satisfied the mandatory criterion 485.213 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This criterion requires the applicant to provide evidence of having applied for an Australian Federal Police Check within the 12 months preceding the visa application. The Tribunal had to determine if the applicant's stated lack of awareness of this requirement, due to previous student visas not necessitating such checks, excused her failure to comply.

The Tribunal reasoned that criterion 485.213 is an unambiguous and mandatory requirement, not subject to the Tribunal's discretion. It noted that the applicant had explicitly answered "No" to the question on the visa application form regarding whether she and other included persons had applied for an Australian Federal Police Check. While the Tribunal acknowledged the applicant's assertion of ignorance regarding the requirement, it found that this did not absolve her of the obligation to satisfy it. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not provided the requisite evidence of applying for an Australian Federal Police Check, and therefore did not meet criterion 485.213. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the original decision to refuse the visa application.