WESTALL (Migration)

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia heard an appeal by the applicant, Westall, concerning the refusal of a Temporary Business Entry (Class UC) visa, subclass 457. The applicant had sought this visa to work as a Project Administrator, a role they had been performing since November 2015. The primary dispute revolved around the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's decision to refuse the visa, which was based, in part, on the applicant not having undergone a skills assessment by VETASSESS.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether a skills assessment by VETASSESS was a mandatory requirement for the applicant to be granted a subclass 457 visa for the occupation of Project Administrator, given their stated experience and the nature of their duties. The Court was required to determine if the applicant's academic qualifications and their practical experience in undertaking tasks consistent with the ANZSCO description for Project Administrator satisfied the visa requirements in the absence of a formal VETASSESS assessment.

Her Honour Judge Connolly found that a skills assessment by VETASSESS was not a mandatory requirement in this specific instance. The Court reasoned that the applicant's substantial experience in the role of Project Administrator, coupled with their academic qualifications, sufficiently demonstrated their capacity to perform the duties outlined in the relevant ANZSCO occupation description. Therefore, the absence of a VETASSESS assessment did not preclude the applicant from meeting the visa criteria. The Court set aside the delegate's decision and remitted the matter to the Department for reconsideration according to law.