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Chen v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2011] FMCA 859 (8 November 2011)
Last Updated: 10 November 2011
FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA
CHEN v MINISTER FOR
IMMIGRATION & ANOR
|
[2011] FMCA 859
|
MIGRATION – Review of Migration Review
Tribunal Decision – refusal to grant visa applicant a Skilled
(Provisional) (Class
VC) visa – no reviewable error - application
dismissed.
|
|
First Respondent:
|
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP
|
|
Second Respondent:
|
MIGRATION REVIEW TRIBUNAL
|
|
Hearing date:
|
2 March 2011
|
|
Delivered on:
|
8 November 2011
|
REPRESENTATION
Counsel for the
Applicant:
|
Mr L. J. Karp
|
Solicitors for the Applicant:
|
Mr V. Cheng of Berrigan Doube Lawyers
|
Counsel for the Respondents:
|
Ms R. Francois
|
Solicitors for the Respondents:
|
Clayton Utz Lawyers
|
ORDERS
(1) The Amended Application filed on 4 February 2011 is
dismissed.
(2) The Applicant is to pay the First Respondent’s costs, of and
incidental to the Amended Application, fixed in the sum of
$6,000.00.
|
FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT
SYDNEY
|
SYG 2451 of
2010
Applicant
And
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION &
CITIZENSHIP
|
First Respondent
MIGRATION REVIEW TRIBUNAL
|
Second Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Introduction
- In
accordance with orders made at the First Court Date directions hearing on 7
December 2010, the solicitor for the First Respondent
was required to file a
folder which was to be indexed, labelled and paginated, containing all documents
which may be relevant to
the hearing. This order was complied with and the
volume of material provided is identified as the Court Book (“CB”).
On the date of the hearing, the Court Book was marked Exhibit ‘A’.
- At
the First Court Date directions hearing the Applicant was granted leave to file
and serve an Amended Application giving complete
particulars of each ground of
review relied upon, together with any supporting affidavit material. The
Applicant elected to pursue
this option and filed an Amended Application on 4
February 2011 in the following form:
- 1. The
Tribunal’s decision was illogical and irrational.
- Particulars
- (a) The
Tribunal found that the Applicant did not differentiate in his own mind between
a Chef and a Cook when he wrote the word
“Chef” besides the word
“Nominated Occupation” on his visa application form.
- (b)
Despite an inconsistency with the findings stated in 1(a) above, the Tribunal
also found that he had intended to nominate, “Chef”
as his nominated
skill occupation.
- 2. The
Tribunal erroneously found that a person could not change their nominated skill
occupation during the currency of an application,
or review of the
Minister’s decision by the Tribunal.
Background
- In
setting out the following background material I have either paraphrased or
quoted directly from the written submissions prepared
by Mr Karp who appears as
counsel for the Applicant. Ms Francois, appearing for the Respondent agrees
that this is an effective
summary of the background material but raises one
issue which is addressed below. I have not made any further direct attribution
as this would make the summary unwieldy. This information is provided to assist
in the understanding of the nature of the Application
and not to establish any
evidentiary point.
- The
Applicant, Mr Chen, applied for a Subclass 485 (Skilled-Graduate) visa by
Application lodged electronically on 9 March 2009 (CB
1-11). The validity
requirement of this visa (i.e. those in schedule 1) including
sub-paragraph1229(4)(b)(ii) to the effect that
the Applicant must have nominated
a skilled occupation in his application for which at least 50 points are
available as specified
in an instrument in writing for that paragraph.
- Schedule
2 ‘Time of Application’ requirements include the
following:
- 485.214 The
Minister is satisfied that the applicant has applied for an assessment of the
applicant’s skills for the nominated
skills occupation by a relevant
assessing authority.
- The
time of decision criteria includes:
- 485.221(1)
The skill of the applicant for the applicant’s nominated skilled
occupation have been assessed by the relevant assessing
authority as suitable
for that occupation.
- The
term, ‘skilled occupation’ was defined, as relevant, in reg.1.15I as
follows:
- (1) A
skilled occupation, in relation to a person, means an occupation of a
kind that
- (a) is
specified by the Minister in an instrument in writing to be a skilled
occupation; and
- (b) for
which a number of points specified in the instrument are available; and
- (c) is
applicable to the person in accordance with the specification.
It is noted that reg.1.15I came into effect
on 1 July 2010 (see SLI133/2010 reg.3 Sch. 1[7]). However, by reg.3(4) it
applied to
applications made but not finally determined by that date.
- The
relevant instrument for both paragraphs is found in Sch.1, sub-item
1229(4)(b)(ii), and for the definition of ‘skilled occupation’
in
Sch.2 was IMMI08/004 dated 23 April 2008. Both the occupations of “Chef
ASCO3322-11” and “Cook ASCO4513-11”
are listed for each
provision. Mr Chen wrote that his nominated and skilled occupation was
“Chef” in his visa application
(CB 9). He stated that he had an AQF
Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) and a Diploma of Hospitality
Management
(CB 9) and that he had worked for two employers in Australia. He
described his employment as “Chef” and his duties as
among other
things, cleaning utensils, preparing food and Cooking it (CB 10). Also submitted
in his visa application was a IELTS
test result sheet which he scored 5.0 for
each of listening and writing, 5.5 for reading and 6.0 for speaking (CB 21).
- On
13 April 2010, the Minister’s delegate refused to grant the Applicant a
visa because she found that Mr Chen had not applied
for a skills assessment for
his nominated skilled occupation as required by Sch.2 485.214 (CB 23 –
28). Mr Chen applied for
a review of this decision on 23 April 2010 (CB 29).
- It
is submitted on behalf of the Applicant that contrary to the delegate’s
decision, Mr Chen had indeed applied for recognition
of his nominated skilled
occupation prior to 11 February 2009 (CB 48). On 16 April 2009, Trades
Recognition Australia (TRA) assessed
him as a “Cook 4513-11” (CB 49
– 50). Beneath the assessment is the notation:
- If the
occupation shown above is not the occupation in which you requested recognition,
it is because you could not satisfy TRA’s
assessment requirement for that
occupation.
- Thus,
Mr Chen found himself in a situation where he had obtained TRA recognition for a
skilled occupation which was sufficient to
gain him a Subclass 485 visa however,
that occupation was not the one he had applied for on his visa application
form.
- Ms
Francois raises an issue in respect of the above statement, in that she submits
that the Applicant failed to provide any information
to the delegate of the
First Respondent that he had applied for an assessment of his skills at the time
of his application (see CB
1 – 21) noting that he answered
“no” to the second question on p.1, and para.20 of the Tribunal
decision at (CB
109). Only when the matter went to the Tribunal was that
evidence produced.
- On
7 September 2010 Mr Chen’s newly appointed solicitor and migration agent
wrote to the Tribunal stating that Mr Chen had mistakenly
nominated
“Chef” rather than “Cook” on his visa application (CB
85[1.4]). This was because he did not realise
the difference between a
“Chef” and a “Cook” as in the Applicant’s native
language there is only one
word to describe the position responsible for food
preparation and cooking (CB 86 [2.2]). It is also submitted that Mr
Chen’s
qualifications and work experience as mentioned in his visa
application, were all “with respect to Cook” (CB 86 [2.4]).
In her
decision, the Tribunal member stated that at the hearing she disclosed to Mr
Chen that the Tribunal had independently verified
with TRA that “...the
applicant had nominated Chef in his application for assessment”. She
continued (at CB 109 at [18])
as follows:
- This
information was put to the applicant formally under s.359AA at the hearing. It
was explained to the applicant that this could
lead the Tribunal to find that he
had not been successfully assessed by TRA in relation to his nominated skilled
occupation and therefore
has not satisfied cl.485.221. It was explained that
alternatively, if the Tribunal did find that he intended to nominate Cook as
his
nominated skilled occupation, then the information from TRA could lead the
Tribunal to find that he had not applied for an assessment
of his skills for the
nominated skilled occupation of Cook by relevant assessing authority as required
by cl.485.214. Either of
these alternatives could lead the Tribunal to affirm
the decision...to refuse to grant that visa.
- Mr
Chen was given an opportunity to obtain a migration skills assessment as
“Chef”. The solicitors wrote to the Tribunal
on
3 September
2010 stating that they were unsuccessful in obtaining that assessment (CB 99).
They submitted that there is no reason
why a person would purposely nominate
himself as a Chef as opposed to a Cook and as a result be subject to more
stringent criteria
on TRA (CB 99). He submitted that the Applicant has not been
assisted in making the Application and had made a bona fide mistake
(CB 100).
Tribunal decision
- In
the decision record (CB 105 – 113) it is noted that the Tribunal set the
matter down for hearing on 6 September 2010. A
request for postponement was
made and granted. The hearing was postponed until 9 September 2010. On 6
September 2010, the Tribunal
was notified that the Applicant had appointed a new
representative who provided further submission to the Tribunal on 7 September
2010. At the hearing on 9 September 2010, the Applicant gave evidence and the
Tribunal decision was issued on 20 October 2010.
The Tribunal noted that the
term ‘nominated skilled occupation’ was not defined in the Act or
regulations, but that ‘skilled
occupation’ was defined in reg.1.15I.
It noted that both “Chef” and “Cook” are specified
as skilled occupations in the relevant legislative instruments
(CB 111). It
found Mr Chen to be a frank and honest witness and accepted that he had not
differentiated in his own mind the two
skilled occupations of “Cook”
and “Chef” when he nominated the latter for the purposes of his visa
application.
He continued at CB 112 at [31]:
- However,
the Tribunal finds that this lack of differentiation and understanding in his
own mind does not mean he intended to nominate
‘Cook’ as he
nominated...
Applicant’s submissions – ground 1
- Mr
Karp, of counsel, appearing for the Applicant, assisted the Court with setting
out the legislative regime that is applicable to
these proceedings. Commencing
at s.45, and in particular, he submits, s.46B of the Migration Act 1958
(Cth) (“Migration Act”) which states:
-
s.45(1) Subject to this Act and the regulations, a non-citizen
who wants a visa
must apply for a visa
of a particular class.
- ...
- s.46B
(1) An application for a visa
is not a valid application if it is made by a transitory
person who:
-
(a) is in Australia; and
-
(b) is an unlawful
non-citizen.
-
(2) If the Minister thinks that it is in the public interest to do so, the
Minister may, by written notice given to
a transitory
person, determine that subsection (1) does not apply to an application
by the person for a visa
of a class specified
in the determination.
-
(3) The power under subsection (2) may only be exercised by the
Minister personally.
-
(4) If the Minister makes a determination under subsection (2), the
Minister must cause to be laid before each House
of the Parliament a statement
that:
-
(a) sets out the determination; and
-
(b) sets out the reasons for the determination, referring in particular to
the Minister's reasons for thinking
that the Minister's actions are in the
public interest.
-
(5) A statement under subsection (4) must not include:
-
(a) the name of the transitory
person; or
-
(b) any information that may identify the transitory
person; or
-
(c) if the Minister thinks that it would not be in the public interest to
publish the name of another person
connected in any way with the matter
concerned--the name of that other person or any information that may identify
that other person.
-
(6) A statement under subsection (4) must be laid before each House
of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that
House after:
-
(a) if the determination is made between 1 January and 30 June
(inclusive) in a year--1 July in that year;
or
-
(b) if the determination is made between 1 July and 31 December
(inclusive) in a year--1 January in the following
year.
-
(7) The Minister does not have a duty to consider whether to exercise the
power under subsection (2) in respect of
any transitory
person whether the Minister is requested to do so by the transitory
person or by any other person, or in any other
circumstances.
- Mr
Karp submits that those sections relate to reg.2.07 which states:
- Reg.2.07
(1) For the purposes of sections 45 and 46 of the Act (dealing with
application for a visa), if an application is required for a particular class
of visa, the following matters are set out in the relevant Part of Schedule
1:
Of particular relevance is sub-section (3)
which states:
(3) An
applicant must complete an approved
form in accordance with any directions on it.
The
Schedule 1 criteria at sub-para.1229(4)(b) relevantly states:
(b) the applicant seeking to satisfy the primary criteria
for the grant of the visa:
(i) must be less than 50; and
(ii) must nominate a skilled occupation for the applicant that
is specified by the Minister in an instrument
in writing for this subparagraph.
- Mr
Karp submits that it is acknowledged and common ground that both
“Chef” and “Cook” were skilled occupations
in terms of
regulation 1.15I. Therefore, the Applicant must nominate a skilled occupation
in his application. The criteria for the
visa are set out in Schedule 2 and the
reference to nominating a skilled occupation appears at cl.485.213(b), which
states:
- 485.213
The following requirements are met:
-
(a) ...
-
(b) each degree, diploma or trade qualification used to
satisfy the Australian
study requirement is closely
related to the applicant's nominated skilled
occupation.
- Relevant
to the decision under review is cl.485.214 which states:
- 485.214
The Minister is satisfied that the applicant has applied for an assessment of
the applicant's skills for the nominated
skilled occupation by a relevant
assessing authority.
- Further,
cl.485.221 which is a time of decision criteria, states:
- 485.221
(1) The skills of the applicant for the applicant's nominated
skilled occupation have been assessed by the relevant
assessing authority as
suitable for that occupation.
- In
the General Skilled Migration Application Form completed by Min Chen dated 9
March 2009, under the heading Nominated Occupation:
“Chef”
was entered (CB 9). That is followed by his
qualifications. He states that his duties as a “Chef” (CB
10) with a particular employer were to:
- ...arrange
food storage, maintaining equipment and utensils, preparing ingredients, Cooking
dishes on the menu, maintaining food
safety.
And
further reiterates that he was employed as a “Chef”.
- In
the International English Language Test System (IELTS) – Test Report Form
(CB 21) the Applicant has achieved scores of 5;
5.5; 5.0 and 6 and the overall
band score of 5.5 is his IELTS test dated 30 August 2008. He has also
undertaken a Trades Recognition
Australia Assessment (CB 49). It is noted in a
letter from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations that
his Application for Recognition of his skills were considered successful if his
occupation was that of Cook – ASCO4.513-11.
Immediately below that
skills rating a paragraph states:
- ...the
occupation above is not the occupation in which you request the recognition, it
is because you could not satisfy TRA’s
assessment requirements for that
occupation.
It is submitted that so far as the TRA
was concerned, if an applicant satisfied the requirements for something other
than that which
he requested recognition, he was assessed as meeting the
requirements for the other occupation.
- Mr
Karp then referred the Court to the letter from Berrigan Doube Lawyers Group
written by Jenny Wang, Associate Director dated
7 September 2010 (CB 85)
addressed to Tribunal member Rowena Irish. This letter was sent two days before
the Tribunal hearing. At
para.1.4 the letter states:
- On or about
9 March 2009, the applicant lodged an application for a Skilled Graduate
(Temporary) (Class VC, Subclass 485) visa “the
visa application”.
The application was applied for online and without the assistance of a migration
agent. As a result, the
applicant mistakenly nominated Chef rather than Cook on
the visa application.
- Then
at 2.4 the Applicant’s qualifications are set out:
- Throughout
the visa application, the applicant’s qualifications and work experience
are all with respect to a Cook. Furthermore,
the applicant’s application
to TRA which was lodged prior to the time of application for a visa application,
was also subsequently
approved as Cook. All documentation, work experience and
placement details are with respect to his Certificate III in Hospitality
(Commercial Cookery). (CB 86)
Then at 2.6 the letter
states:
The applicant relies on MRT decision 0903118 [2010] MRTA 44 (8 January 2010)
by Tribunal Member Carney for a finding that the applicant intended to nominate
Cook (ASCO4513-11) and accordingly
the matter be remitted with a direction that
the applicant has satisfied sub-class 485.222(1).
- In
the Tribunal decision in the findings and reasons at [13], the Tribunal member
states:
- After
considering all of the evidence that is before the Tribunal, the Tribunal is
satisfied that the applicant made a mistake and
put the incorrect nominated
occupation in her application form. All evidence on the file corroborates
her claim that she intended to put Cook. The document she provided
with her
application includes references indicating her skill base was for Cook. As
noted above she supplied the documents entitled
Pre-Migration Skills Assessment
Application outcome with the reference number TRA08/07721674. This reference
number was provided
on her application form. The delegate referred to in the
decision record that the applicant provided evidence of her skills assessment
results from the relevant assessment authority and her skills had been deemed
successful for the occupation for a Cook (4513-11).
The delegate went on to
state that she had not nominated the occupation of Chef (3322-11) but not
provided the evidence of a favourable
skills assessment for Chef she did not
satisfy the requirements of subclass 485.2221(1).
Mr
Karp acknowledges that the MRT decision is not binding on this Court but it was
simply what the Applicant relies on.
- In
a letter from Heng Australia Pty Ltd dated 7 September 2010, from the
Applicant’s employer, (CB 97) in the second last paragraph
states:
- Unfortunately,
he has made an error of judgment by representing his occupation as Chef than as
a Cook which may have resulted from
the differences in culture. I understand
that in Chinese culture, Cook and Chef occupation are viewed as one in the same
thus his
misunderstanding. I believe this young man, Mr Chen deserves a second
chance to continue his work in Australia and continue contributing
to Australia
as he has proved throughout his work that he is a great asset not only to my
business but also to the Australian economy
particularly the community in which
our business operates.
- In
the Tribunal decision of Rowena Irish MRT Case number 1002980 dated the 19
October 2010 at [18] the member states:
- At the
hearing on 9 September 2010 the applicant gave evidence that he applied for an
assessment of his skills with Trades Recognition
Australia (TRA) in February
2009. In that application for assessment he requested assessment as a Chef.
The Tribunal independently
verified with TRA that the applicant had nominated
Chef in his application for assessment. This information was put to the
applicant
formally under s.359AA at the hearing. It was explained to the
applicant that this could lead the Tribunal to find that he had not been
successfully assessed
by TRA in relation to his nominated skilled occupation and
therefore did not satisfy cl.485.221. It was also explained that alternatively,
if the Tribunal did find that he intended to nominate Cook as his nominated
skilled occupation then the information from TRA could
lead the Tribunal to find
that he had not applied for an assessment of his skills for the nominated
skilled occupation of Cook but
by the relevant skill assessing authority as
required by cl.485.214. Either of these alternatives could lead the Tribunal
to affirm
the decision of the Department of Immigration to refuse to grant the
visa. (CB 109).
- Then
at [20] of the decision record, it states:
- He
subsequently lodged his visa application on 9 March 2009 with the nominated
skills occupation of “Chef”. He was not
assisted by a migration
agent with the application. He gave evidence that he did not realise the
distinction between “Chef”
and “Cook” and had not
scrolled down the list past the category of “Chef” and therefore did
not see the alternate
category of “Cook”. He gave evidence that his
visa was due to expire on 15 March 2009 and therefore he was in a hurry
to lodge
the application so when he saw Chef on the list he nominated this as it seemed
appropriate. The visa applicant gave evidence
that he believed he had uploaded
the letter from TRA to the Department of Immigration on 13 July 2009. However,
no evidence of this
appears on the Department’s file. The applicant
provided to the Tribunal a copy of a print out showing the documents that
had
been uploaded on 13 July 2009 and this did not include any letter from TRA.
- The
applicant provided to the Tribunal a copy of a print-out showing the document
that he had uploaded on 13 July 2009 and this did
not include any letter from
TRA. At [22] of the decision record it states:
- When asked
by the Tribunal what he understood the requirements for competent English where
he stated that it was 5 on each band of
the IELTS test. When asked what he
understood the requirements of vocational English were he stated that it was
also 5 on each band
on the IELTS test. When asked by the Tribunal what the
distinction was between the two levels then he stated he did not know. When
asked why he had specified his English language level as competent in the
application form rather than vocational he said he did
not realise the
distinction.
- Mr
Karp referred the Court to reg.1.15B which defines vocational English and
sub-paragraph (3) states:
-
(3) If a person applies, on or after 1 July 1999, for a
visa (other than a General
Skilled Migration visa) a criterion
for the grant of which is that the
person has vocational English, the person has vocational English
if the person satisfies the Minister that the person has achieved an IELTS
test score of at least 5 for each of the 4 test components
of speaking,
reading, writing and listening in a test
conducted.
Whereas competent English requires a score
of at least 6 in each of the four test components. Mr Karp submits that it is
quite clear
from [22] above that the Applicant did not understand the difference
between vocational and competent English which supports the
Applicant’s
case.
- Mr
Karp submits that in the Tribunal’s findings and reasons at [31] initiates
what he believes to be the crux of the errors
in the Tribunal decision. Then
the paragraph commences:
- On behalf
of the visa applicant it has been submitted that the visa applicant made a
mistake when he had nominated his occupation
as Chef instead of Cook. The
Tribunal found the visa applicant to be a frank and honest witness and
accordingly accepted his evidence
that he had not differentiated in his own mind
between the two skilled occupations of “Cook” and “Chef”
when
he nominated the latter for the purposes of his visa application.
- Mr
Karp submits that the Tribunal accepted that the Applicant was a frank and
honest witness and carries with it an acceptance that he did not look past
Chef on the list of skilled occupations (see decision at [20]). This
also
carries with it an implication of acceptance that the words ‘Chef’
and ‘Cook’ are used interchangeably
in his language and also that he
did not know the difference between ‘vocational’ and
‘competent’ English
and that also comes from [22] of the Tribunal
decision. The Tribunal continues at [31] and it is submitted by Mr Karp that
this
is where it starts to be erroneous:
- However,
the Tribunal finds that this lack of differentiation and understanding in his
own mind does not mean that he intended to
nominate “Cook” as his
nominated skilled occupation. The fact that he requested assessment by TRA as a
“Chef”
believed he would be successfully assessed as a
“Chef” by TRA and incorrectly specified his IELTS result as
“competent”
(a level required for “Chef” but not for a
“Cook”) supports the view that the visa applicant did intend
to
nominate Chef as his nominated skilled occupation.
- Mr
Karp argues that this reasoning is untenable and asks the rhetorical question of
‘how can it be if the applicant did not
know the difference between a Cook
and a Chef and he did not know the difference between competent and vocational
English, that he
intended to nominate one rather than the other’?. He
submits that this does not make sense and is the basis for his submission
that
the Tribunal decision was “illogical and irrational”.
- Mr
Karp indicated that there was a disagreement between himself and Ms Francois as
to the interpretation of the High Court judgment
in Minister for Immigration
and Citizenship v SZMDS [2010] HCA 16 in which there is no majority on any
question of principle. In the judgment of Gummow ACJ and Keifel J at [40],
where their Honours
cited with approval the High Court judgment of Gummow and
Hayne JJ in the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous
Affairs v SGLB (2004) 78 ALJR 992, their Honours stated:
- An
affirmative answer to that question should not be lightly given.
- The
satisfaction of the Minister is a condition precedent to the discharge of the
obligation to grant or refuse to grant the visa,
and is a “jurisdictional
fact” or criterion upon which the exercise of that authority is
conditioned.
- The
satisfaction of the criterion that the applicant is a non-citizen to whom
Australia has the relevant protection obligations may
include consideration of
factual matters but the critical question is whether the determination was
irrational, illogical and not
based on findings or inferences of fact supported
by logical grounds. If the decision did display these defects, it will be no
answer
that the determination was reached in good faith.
- However, it
should be remarked that what is characterized as the “critical
question” should not receive an affirmative
answer that is lightly
given.
- Mr
Karp contends that their Honour’s Gummow ACJ and Keifel J endorse the
proposition that a determination that:
- ...was
irrational or illogical and not bound on findings of any inferences of fact
supported by logical ground -
is jurisdictional
error.
- In
the judgment of Crennan and Bell JJ at [129] their Honours discussed the history
of ‘illogicality’ or ‘irrationality’
in the following
terms:
- ...accepting
that an allegation of “illogicality” or “irrationality”
must mean something other than emphatic
disagreement as explained above by
reference to Eshetu and S20, and also accepting that a
demonstration of bona fides will not save an illogical or irrational decision or
finding on a jurisdictional
fact as stated in SGLB, how do
“illogicality” and “irrationality” fit with the clearly
related body of law concerned with error,
particularly jurisdictional error, in
respect of reasoning which is “clearly unjust”,
“arbitrary”, “capricious”
or “Wednesbury
unreasonable”?
- [130]
In the context of the Tribunal’s decision here,
“illogicality” or “irrationality” sufficient to give
rise to jurisdictional error must mean the decision to which the Tribunal came,
in relation to the state of satisfaction required
under s 65, is one at
which no rational or logical decision maker could arrive on the same evidence.
In other words, accepting, for the sake
of argument, that an allegation of
illogicality or irrationality provides some distinct basis for seeking judicial
review of a decision
as to a jurisdictional fact, it is nevertheless an
allegation of the same order as a complaint that a decision is “clearly
unjust” or “arbitrary” or “capricious” or
“unreasonable” in the sense that the state of
satisfaction mandated
by the statute imports a requirement that the opinion as to the state of
satisfaction must be one that could
be formed by a reasonable person.
- Mr
Karp submits that Ms Francois, in her written submissions, draws the distinction
between the decision of Crennan and Bell JJ and
what Gummow ACJ and Keifel J
hold in dissent. Mr Karp submits that they are essentially saying the same
thing and the invocation
of ‘irrationality and illogicality’ in the
judgments in that case say no more than that illogicality or irrationality
is a
ground of judicial review but it must be manifest and must be essentially
“arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable”.
Mr Karp contends that
collection of terms add up to the same thing.
- In
summary, Mr Karp submits that the Tribunal’s findings that the Applicant
intended to nominate ‘Chef’ rather than
‘Cook’ in his
visa application form when he did not know the difference between them and did
not understand that they
required the satisfaction of slightly different
criteria is unreasonable or irrational or capricious in the terms of the
judgments
in Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZMDS (supra).
Respondent’s submissions – ground 1
- Ms
Francois submits that the crux of the first ground is located in para.31 of the
Tribunal decision where the Tribunal’s acceptance
that the Applicant never
differentiated in his mind between ‘Cook’ and ‘Chef’
leads to the finding that,
nonetheless, he intended to nominate Chef. The
Applicant was clearly unaware of the distinction and intentionally chose
‘Chef’
on his visa application. Had he been advised and told that
he would be better off using ‘Cook’ no doubt he would have
taken
that course but he did not and he chose ‘Chef’.
Ms Francois
submits that in hindsight he now wishes he had chosen ‘Cook’ and he
wishes that he had understood the difference.
- Ms
Francois submits that in hindsight, the Applicant wishes he knew the difference
between ‘Cook’ and ‘Chef’
so that he could have chosen
differently. It is submitted that it is not a mistake. A mistake is when you
know there are two choices
and you intend to choose one and instead pick the
other. This Applicant never realised that there are two choices so there is,
relevantly, no mistake. It is an intentional act that with hindsight he wishes
he had done differently and it is submitted that
is what para.31 of the Tribunal
decision establishes.
- Ms
Francois submits that the Tribunal does not doubt that the Applicant had no idea
that there was a difference between the two.
The Tribunal just does not say
that it is relevantly, a mistake and that is open to the Tribunal. It is
submitted that is the only
logical inference because to make a mistake a person
needs to know that they had two options and have intended to pick one, but
mistakenly
put down the other. This Applicant cannot make that out that he made
a mistake. It is submitted that he called himself a Chef and
applied to the TRA
for the skills assessment as a ‘Chef’. He meant to use the word
‘Cook’.
In hindsight he wishes he had selected
‘Cook’ but that is not a mistake, it is submitted that it is an
intentional act
that, with hindsight, he wishes he had done differently. Even
if a different Tribunal might have come to a different conclusion,
that is not
enough to make out ‘illogicality’ as a ground of review.
- Ms
Francois contends that there is a difference between the judgments of Gummow ACJ
and Keifel J and that of Bell and Crennan JJ in
Minister for Immigration and
Citizenship v SZMDS (supra). The dissenting judgment looks at the reasoning
of the Tribunal and how the Tribunal formed its reasons and said the reasoning
was illogical. Whereas, the judgment of Bell and Crennan JJ does not look to the
reasoning, they look at whether or not the decision
was open on the evidence.
The Tribunal can be, in its reasons, as unusual as it likes, but if the Tribunal
finding is open on the
evidence then it is a decision that cannot be impugned.
The difference in that the minority would look to the reasons and scrutinise
the
reasons whereas Wednesbury unreasonableness and the type of review
propounded by Bell and Crennan JJ look to the substance. Ms Francois raises the
question
as to whether it is a decision that no reasonable decision-maker could
make. Ignoring the reasoning and just looking at the evidence
and what the
Tribunal concluded was open on the evidence, the decision should stand, whereas
the minority looked at the reasoning
which is critical because in this case
there is no illogicality in the reasoning. It is open on the evidence to accept
that this
Applicant had no idea about the differences between ‘Chef’
and ‘Cook’ but finds that he did an intentional
act being that he
intended to nominate ‘Chef’ and this, it is submitted, is very
different to the earlier decision referred
to by Mr Karp which Ms Francois
maintains is incorrect. Ms Francois refers to the decision of 0903118 of [2010]
MRTA 44 at para.12 that when the Applicant in that matter went to the TRA she
referred to herself as both ‘Chef’ and ‘Cook’
as she had
been aware of both designations and had been using them. That Applicant would
not meet the time of application criteria
because she applied to the TRA for
both ‘Chef’ and ‘Cook’ but she had also been using those
terms together
unlike the Applicant in the matter before this Court.
Consequently, it is a very different decision. Further, in any event, it
is
submitted that is no mechanism in the Act or Regulations to change a visa
application of this kind.
Consideration – ground 1
- I
note the submissions advanced by both parties however believe the issues are
effectively summarised by the Tribunal at [31] of their
findings and reasons
where it states:
- 31.
...[T]he Tribunal finds that this lack of differentiation and understanding in
his own mind does not mean that he intended to
nominate “Cook” as
his nominated skilled occupation. The fact that he requested assessment by TRA
as a “Chef”,
believed he would be successfully assessed as
“Chef” by TRA and incorrectly specified his IELTS results as
“competent”
( a level required for “Chef” but not for
“Cook”) supports the view that the visa applicant did intend to
nominate “Chef” as his nominated skilled occupation. (CB
112).
- I
agree with the observation made by the Tribunal member that it was unfortunate
that Mr Chen did not obtain advice from either a
registered migration agent or
competent person with a detailed working knowledge of skilled occupation
applications under the Migration Act prior to lodging his visa
application and therefore proceeding to lodge the visa application under the
mistaken belief that “Chef”
was the appropriate nominated skilled
occupation for him. The Tribunal in the following paragraph then considers the
request for
leniency based on the Tribunal exercising its discretion due to the
Applicant’s lack of understanding and being unable to differentiate
between “Cook” and “Chef”. This case is different from
others in this area where people have nominated “Chef
Cook” for
example on their application: Martinez v Minister for Immigration and
Citizenship [2009] FCA 781; (2009) 110 ALD 540. Clearly, the structure of the legislation
requires the nomination of a single skilled occupation. There is no mechanism
in the
Act or the Regulations to change this nomination once the application has
been lodged. Neither party have advanced any authority
which supports the
argument that a discretion can be exercised in this specific area of the Act or
regulations.
- In
the absence of authority in respect to a discretion in relation to sub-paragraph
1129(4)(b)(ii) of Sch.1, the Tribunal member
resorted to the department policy
guideline with the acknowledgement that they were advisory and were not binding
on the Tribunal.
I accept the Tribunal’s reasoning at [32]
that:
- 32...Such
‘leniency’ is only available where there is a discretion to be
exercised by the Tribunal. There is no such
discretion available to the
Tribunal in the applicant’s case. The Tribunal observes that
sub-subparagraph 1129(4)(b)(ii) of
Schedule 1 provides that the applicant must
nominate a skilled occupation in the application for which at least 50 points
are available
as specified by the Minister in an instrument in writing for this
subparagraph. Sub-subparagraph 1129(4)(b)(ii) makes it clear
that in order for
an application to be valid, the visa applicant must nominate a skilled
occupation. There is no provision in this
sub-subparagraph to nominate more
than one possible skilled occupation for the purposes of the visa application.
Nor is there any
mechanism in either the Act or regulations for applicants to
otherwise correct or alter the skilled occupation they have nominated...
(CB
112).
- Mr
Karp submits that the guidelines in respect to this interpretation are not
correct but does not advance any authority to support
the contention that the
Tribunal had a discretion that could be exercised.
In these circumstances,
I do not believe that the argument advanced in respect of ground 1 can be
sustained and should be dismissed.
Applicant’s submissions – ground 2
- Mr
Karp further referred the Court to the Tribunal decision at para.32 (CB 112)
where it states:
- ...There is
no provision in this sub-subparagraph to nominate more than one possible skill
occupation for the purposes of the visa
application. Nor is there any mechanism
in either the Act or the regulations for the applicant to otherwise correct or
alter the
skilled occupation they have nominated in their visa application.
Whilst the Tribunal is not bound by the policy guidelines issued
by the
Department of Immigration, it may have reference to them in considering
interpretations of the legislation. The Tribunal
notes that the policy
guidelines in “PAM3: Sch.2 Visa 485” at paragraph 9.2 confirm the
Tribunal’s interpretation
set out above.
Mr
Karp contends that this interpretation is not correct.
- In
cl.485.213 and cl.485.214 the reference to nominated skilled occupation in those
paragraphs has to relate back to the occupation
which is nominated on the
application. These regulations are time of application criteria which relate to
the occupation nominated
on the form and they relate back to
sub-para.1229(4)(b)(ii) of Sch.1 which takes place at the same time. Mr Karp
submits that the
time of decision criteria in cl.485.221 is post-assessment and
it must be post-assessment because it refers to the Applicant’s
nominated
skilled occupation having been assessed. There is no reason why a person cannot
have applied for an assessment under one
nominated skilled occupation thereby
satisfying the Schedule 1 criteria and the time of application criteria which
can then be changed
for the time of decision criteria. The Tribunal member says
that there is no mechanism for doing this but Mr Karp disagrees with
this
interpretation.
- Section
358(1) of the Migration Act states:
(1) An applicant for review by the Tribunal
may give the Tribunal:
(a) a written statement in relation to any matter of fact that the
applicant wishes the Tribunal
to consider;
and
(b) written arguments relating to the issues arising in relation to the
decision under review.
- Mr
Karp submits that the terms of s.358(1) are wide enough to encompass a change of
nominated skilled occupation. Similarly, if the matter was still before the
delegate and
even if it is not, he submits that s.54 and s.55 of the
Migration Act permit at least by implication a change of nominated
skilled occupation. Mr Karp submits that any additional relevant information
would include a statement that the Applicant wishes to change his nominated
skilled occupation.
- Section
54 of the Migration Act states:
-
(1) The Minister must, in deciding whether to grant or refuse to grant a
visa,
have regard to all of the information
in the application.
-
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), information is in an
application if the information is:
-
(a) set out in the application; or
-
(b) in a document attached to the application when it is made; or
-
(c) given under section 55.
-
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), a decision to grant or refuse to
grant a visa
may be made without giving the applicant
an opportunity to make oral or written
submissions.
- Section
55(1) of the Migration Act states:
- (1)
Until the Minister has made a decision whether to grant or refuse to grant a visa,
the applicant may give the Minister any additional
relevant information and the
Minister must have regard to that information in making the decision.
- Mr
Karp contends that when the time for decision and time of application criteria
are raised, the High Court judgment in Bodruddaza v Minister for
Immigration [2007] HCA 14; (2007) 228 CLR 651 can be distinguished as the facts are
different from the facts in this case.
Respondent’s submissions – ground 2
- Ms
Francois submits that the difficulty with this ground is that there is only one
occupation nominated in the Application form.
Consequently, this is a
theoretical ground of review where an applicant says, in theory that he would
like to now change his application
by nominating another occupation. There is
no mechanism to do that. The sections to which Mr Karp refers talk about
information
and issues in support of a visa application, however they do not
address changing the visa Application. These sections refer to
information and
material in support of the visa application that was made.
- Ms
Francois submits that it is set out in the application form that the Applicant
applied for a nominated occupation of ‘Chef’
and there is no scope
to get past that nomination. In the application form at para.18 (CB 109) the
application for assessment requested
was that of a ‘Chef’. He did
not request it as a ‘Cook’. Consequently, at the time of
application and in
order to be assessed as to whether or not he met the time of
application criteria, he applied to the TRA as a Chef. Even if the
Applicant
could go back in time and change his nominated occupation to ‘Cook’
he cannot meet the requirements of cl.485.214
that at the time of his
application, he has applied for assessment as a Cook. Although Mr Karp advances
the argument that more than
one occupation can be nominated, the authorities
clearly establish that the accommodation of a singular option cannot include
plural
unless there is a clear contrary intention.
Consideration – ground 2
- Sub-paragraph
1229(4)(b)(ii) states:
-
(b) the applicant seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for
the grant of the visa:
-
(i) must be less than 50; and
-
(ii) must nominate a skilled occupation for the applicant that
is specified by the Minister in an instrument
in writing for this subparagraph.
- The
term ‘skilled occupation’ is clearly singular. Clause 485.214
states:
- 485.214
The Minister is satisfied that the applicant has applied for an assessment of
the applicant's skills for the nominated
skilled occupation by a relevant
assessing authority.
Again, this clause is expressed
in the singular. In cl.485.221 it states:
485.221 (1) The skills of the
applicant for the applicant's nominated skilled occupation have been assessed by
the relevant
assessing authority as suitable for that occupation.
Again, the clause is expressed in the singular. Given the
complexity of this legislative scheme, it cannot be inferred that the plural
was
included given that every reference is to the singular. It would work to the
disadvantage of an Applicant if the plural was
implied because if you fail to
meet all the necessary criteria of each nominated occupation, the visa could be
refused. The structure
of the Act does not give any logical basis for
construing the terms to include the plural as it would in fact ultimately work
to
the disadvantage of an Applicant. Mr Chen, with his need for early advice
that he did not obtain, now wishes to change the application
that he has
made.
- If
an Applicant realises within a period of time that they had put the wrong
occupation, they must make another visa application.
While that obviously
creates some difficulty, unfortunately, that is what is required. While that
may create inconvenience for
the Applicant, it is an inconvenience caused by the
Applicant’s own conduct in that the Applicant chose not to get advice
before
he completed the form. Had the Applicant sought advice before lodging
the Application, he may have done it differently. He has
done it in a
particular way which was deliberate and he now wishes to be relieved of the fact
that had he had better advice he would
have proceeded in a different manner.
Such a course is not available in the legislation and the Applicant is not
precluded from making
another application, be it onshore or offshore. There is
no mechanism within the Act to amend an application once it has progressed
to
this stage. Consequently, ground 2 cannot be sustained and the Amended
Application filed on 4 February 2011 should be dismissed.
I
certify that the preceding 58Error! Style not
defined.!Syntax Error, !Error! Style not defined.Error! Style not
defined.!Syntax Error, !fifty-eightfifty-eight (58) paragraphs are a true
copy of the reasons for judgment of Lloyd-Jones FM
Date: 8 November 2011
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