Vuong (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision not to grant the applicant a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The applicant failed to provide requested information within the prescribed period, and at the time of the decision under review, was not enrolled in a course of study. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, constituted by Member Penelope Hunter, was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 500.211(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires an applicant to be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. A "course of study" is defined as a "full-time registered course," and a "registered course" is one provided by an institution registered under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000. The Tribunal considered the role of the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS), a computer system maintained by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and used by the Department of Home Affairs, as a reliable record of enrolments for student visa assessments.

The Tribunal reasoned that PRISMS is a business record of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and is accepted by the Department of Home Affairs as evidence of enrolment for student visa purposes, unless there is specific evidence to the contrary. A recent check of the applicant's PRISMS records on 1 August 2024 indicated that the applicant did not hold a current enrolment in a course of study. As the applicant provided no evidence or submissions to dispute this information, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant met the requirement of being enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Subclass 500 (Student) visa.