1719357 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for protection visas by two applicants from China. The dispute arose because the applicants had departed Australia, and the Tribunal's records indicated they were no longer present in the country.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that an applicant must be a non-citizen present in Australia. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the substantive claims for protection given the applicants' absence from Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the relevant Act, a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. Movement records showed that both applicants had left Australia in late 2020 and early 2021, respectively. The Tribunal notified the applicants of this information and invited them to comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicants were not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2).

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visas.