Business Sponsorship Refusal: Migration Tribunal Reasons

Matter Refused: Employer Business Sponsorship

This decision considered compliance with undertaking, and sponsorship approval bars.

The applicant was barred by the Department of immigration from applying for approval as a business sponsor for a period of six months under s.140L(e) of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act). This is not a matter our firm handled.

The Immigration Department considered that the review applicant had sponsored an individual for employment in an occupation corresponding to the gazetted skilled occupation of Fitness Centre Manager, but who was only working in a position comparable to a Fitness Instructor which was not a gazetted skilled occupation.

The delegate found that the applicant had failed to comply with its undertaking under s.140H of the Act and r.1.20CB(1)(b) of the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Regulations) not to employ an individual who would breach Australian immigration law as a result of that employment.

The applicant provided information on review supporting its claim that the individual performed managerial duties including training staff, purchasing equipment, and marketing activities.
Held: Decision under review set aside.

On review it was satisfied that the employee’s workplace duties were consistent with the listing for the nominated skilled occupation of Fitness Centre Manager under the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations.

On review it was also agreed that the individual had been held out to be the Fitness Centre Manager within the review applicant’s organisation and to the general public. Accordingly under review it was held that there had not been any breach of the review applicant’s undertaking under r.1.20CB(1)(b) of the Regulations for the purposes of s.140H of the Act. It therefore was held that the power under s.140L(e) of the Act to bar the applicant as a business sponsor in future had not been enlivened.