1717182 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had departed Australia. The dispute arose because the applicant was no longer physically present in Australia, which is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa.

The primary 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. This criterion is fundamental to the eligibility for a protection visa.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's physical presence in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia on 20 January 2020. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting a response by 25 February 2020, but received no reply. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the essential criterion under section 36(2). As a result, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa, finding it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the protection claim.