As
a result of the 2014 Lee case (Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection v Lee [2014] FCCA 2881), the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has had no jurisdiction to
review 457 visa refusals unless there was an approved nomination at the date
the appeal was lodged.
This
was a significant barrier to appealing refused 457s, particularly where the
reason for refusal of the 457 was an issue with the nomination.
The
Lee case has been overturned by the Full Federal court in Ahmad v Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection [2015] FCAFC 182. As a result, it is
now possible to lodge an appeal for a 457 refusal where at the date of the
appeal:
- There is an approved nomination; or
- A nomination application is still pending; or
- There is a refused nomination, but the nomination has also been appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) (formerly the 'Migration Review Tribunal (MRT)'.
However,
it appears that it would not be possible to appeal a 457 visa refusal if:
- A nomination has been refused, but not appealed to the MRT; or
- A nomination has previously been approved, but has now expired.
