2014-Mar 07: Medical re-referrals – Lawyers/Immigration Advisor comments for re-referral

Visa Pak 151 - Information about when medicals can be re-referred to the Medical Assessor contesting the Not ASH opinion.

Visa Paks

7 March 2014

Medical re-referrals – Lawyers/Immigration Advisor comments for re-referral

Context
When medical certificates are being re-referred to the Medical Assessor (MA) contesting the Not ASH opinion, the only information supplied should be medical information from a suitably qualified professional disputing the MA’s findings. Information that is not medically based is of no relevance to the MA and should not be referred to the MA to consider.

Background

When an applicant has their medical Not ASH’d for the first time, they can provide further medical information from a suitably qualified professional that disputes the original opinion from the MA. The medical information must be re-referred to the MA to consider.

This does not include non-medical information, as these do not dispute the MA’s opinion. (Refer to instruction A4.40.) Non-medical arguments include but are not restricted to:

  • References to previous IPT decisions (or their predecessors) findings – this is not disputing the MA’s findings.
  • Legal arguments surrounding the MA’s findings – it must dispute the MA’s findings with a medical basis.
  • Arguments for why the applicant should remain in New Zealand – this is for the Immigration Officer to consider, not the MA.
  • References to medical journals/google/Wikipedia by a non-health professional as a counter-argument (eg by either the client or their representative) – in these circumstances the evidence supplied to dispute the MA’s findings is not from a suitably qualified professional.

If an applicant fails to provide further medical information for a temporary application it doesn’t need to be re-referred to the MA and an IO can make a decision on the application. If no further medical information is provided for a residence application (and the applicant has clearly communicated they are not disputing the MA’s findings) then a decision can also be made by the IO.

Action

All officers should ensure that information supplied by an applicant disputing a Not ASH opinion is medically relevant and supplied by a suitably qualified professional before referring back to the MA.

If there is medical evidence supplied with a legal argument then only provide the medically relevant information – not the legal arguments.

If staff are unsure what to provide they should consult with their Technical Adviser in the first instance before re-referring the medical to the MA.