1700340 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal was reviewing a decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen *in* Australia. This criterion is stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's physical presence in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in July 2009. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Based on the available evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the requirement of being in Australia, as mandated by section 36(2) of the Act, and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.