Waring (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream, for a position as a cook. The applicant, E-Fishient Pty Ltd, had its nomination for the position initially refused by the Department. The AAT was asked to review this refusal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nomination for the cook position had been approved, as required by clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the relevant regulations. This clause mandates that the nominated position must be located in regional Australia and, for nominations made on or after 1 July 2017, must identify the applicant in relation to the position, and crucially, that the nomination must have been approved.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the Department had initially refused the nomination on 17 March 2017, E-Fishient Pty Ltd had applied for a review of that decision. On 7 February 2019, the Tribunal set aside the Department's refusal and substituted a decision approving the nomination. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the requirement under cl.187.233(3) was now met. Given this finding, the Tribunal determined that the appropriate course of action was to remit the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration of the remaining visa criteria.