1731271 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by a Liberian national. The applicant was no longer in Australia, and the Tribunal had received no response to its communication regarding this matter.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant be a non-citizen present in 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 indicated the applicant had departed Australia in May 2018. The Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited comment by a specified date, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant did not meet the criterion of being in Australia, and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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