1715793 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen who was not within Australia. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant her a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion for a protection visa that she be a non-citizen in Australia. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant was physically present within Australia at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which stipulates that a protection visa may only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. The Department of Immigration's records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in October 2017. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa.

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