Wheeler (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485, made by the applicant, Wheeler. The dispute arose when the Department initially refused the application on the basis that the applicant had not provided a requested Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance. The applicant subsequently provided an AFP Complete Disclosure certificate to the Tribunal, which revealed disclosable court outcomes.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirement to provide a statement from an appropriate authority regarding their criminal history, as stipulated by regulation 2.03AA(2)(a) of the Migration Regulations. The Tribunal was not tasked with determining whether the applicant met the character requirements for the visa, but rather whether the procedural requirement of providing the relevant statement had been met.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had, by providing the AFP Complete Disclosure certificate, now furnished the requested statement from the appropriate authority concerning their criminal history. Therefore, the requirement under regulation 2.03AA(2)(a) was satisfied. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the appropriate course of action was to remit the application to the Department for reconsideration of the remaining visa criteria.