Watson (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the applications of Watson and five other individuals for Skilled - Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visas, subclass 189, points-tested stream. The primary dispute concerned whether the first applicant, Watson, had satisfied a specific visa criterion relating to the provision of tax assessment notices.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was the interpretation of clause 189.232 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine whether the requirement to provide notices of income tax assessments for the four most recently completed income years before the date of application could be satisfied at the time of the Tribunal's decision, even if not all documents were provided at the initial application stage.

The Tribunal reasoned that clause 189.232(1) requires the provision of notices for the four most recent income years. While the applicant provided notices for the 2014/15, 2015/16, and 2016/17 income years at the time of application, she did not have the 2017/18 notice prepared within the Department's requested timeframe. However, the Tribunal found that the wording of the clause did not mandate that all assessments must have been provided at the exact moment of application, but rather that the requirement could be satisfied as at the time of the Tribunal's decision. As the applicant had since provided the 2017/18 tax assessment notice to the Tribunal, the Tribunal concluded that she met clause 189.232.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the applications for Skilled - Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visas for reconsideration by the Minister. The Tribunal directed that the first applicant, Watson, meets the criteria under clause 189.232. The applications of the other named applicants, who applied as members of Watson's family unit, will be determined by reference to the outcome of Watson's application upon remittal.