1715709 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a non-citizen who had departed Australia. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, constituted by Member Joseph Lindsay, was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen *in Australia* at the time of the decision, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the applicant's substantive claims for protection given the preliminary issue.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the jurisdictional requirement of the applicant's presence in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in March 2018. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no response. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). Consequently, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.