Yasin (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) Subclass 187 visa, Direct Entry stream, for the position of Office Manager. The applicants sought review of a decision by the Department of Home Affairs. The fourth named applicant was an Australian citizen, and ministerial intervention had been requested. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the decision under review should be affirmed.

The central legal issue was whether the applicants met the requirements of clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which pertains to the nomination of a position. This clause, as applicable, required that the position be the subject of an approved nomination in regional Australia, that the nomination identify the applicant, that the nominator be the prospective employer, that the nomination be approved and not withdrawn, that there be no adverse information known to the Department about the nominator or associated persons, that the position remain available, and that the visa application be made within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal noted that the nominator's application to have the Office Manager position approved with the applicant as nominee was made on 18 November 2016. This nomination application was refused on 14 September 2018, and the nominator sought review by the Tribunal. On 7 February 2022, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the nomination. The Tribunal informed the applicants that this affirmed refusal of the nomination meant they likely did not meet clause 187.233(3), which requires an approved nomination. Consequently, the Tribunal indicated it might affirm the decision under review in respect of the primary applicant and, by extension, the secondary applicants who relied on the primary applicant satisfying the visa criteria.