Wing Lok Pty Ltd (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, through Member Joanne Bakas, considered an application by Wing Lok Pty Ltd concerning the approval of a nomination for the position of Café or Restaurant Manager. The dispute centred on whether the applicant's business, trading as Ming's Steamboat, demonstrated a genuine need for an additional restaurant manager, a requirement under regulation 5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994. The applicant's business operated only for dinner six nights per week, and the director was reportedly managing both the kitchen and the restaurant operations.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant met all the criteria for approval of the nomination under the Direct Entry nomination stream, specifically focusing on regulation 5.19(4)(a)(ii), which mandates the identification of a need for a paid employee to work under the nominator's direct control. Key issues included whether the business's operational model and the director's dual responsibilities established a genuine need for a second restaurant manager for a period of at least two years, and whether the applicant had adequately demonstrated efforts to fill the position with an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the nomination, finding that the applicant had not satisfied the requirements of regulation 5.19(4). The reasoning highlighted that the business's limited trading hours (dinner only, six nights a week) and the director's existing management of both kitchen and restaurant duties did not sufficiently establish a genuine need for an additional restaurant manager. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted the lack of recent advertising for the position and the applicant's failure to demonstrate that the role could not be filled by an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The applicant had not sought to satisfy the criteria under the Temporary Residence Transition Nomination stream, which was also a relevant consideration.