Zar (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Subclass 485 Skilled (Provisional) visa in the Graduate Work stream. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant satisfied the ‘Australian study requirement’ as stipulated by clause 485.221 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This requirement mandates that an applicant must have completed specific educational qualifications within the six months immediately preceding their visa application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had met the definition of satisfying the ‘Australian study requirement’. This involved assessing whether the applicant had completed one or more registered courses in Australia, totalling at least 16 calendar months of study and at least two academic years, with all instruction in English, while holding a visa that permitted study. The definition of ‘completed’ was also relevant, meaning the applicant had met the academic requirements for the award of their qualification.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant’s initial evidence indicated a course completion date after the visa application was lodged. However, further evidence, including an amended letter from the Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT), clarified that the applicant had met all academic requirements for his Bachelor of Networking on 10 March 2017. This revised completion date preceded the visa application lodged on 13 March 2017. The Tribunal accepted this amended evidence, noting that a delay in administrative notification from Federation University, where one unit was completed, had caused the initial discrepancy.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the Australian study requirement under clause 485.221. The Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that this specific criterion for the Subclass 485 visa had been satisfied.