1732236 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a person from China. The applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal was reviewing a decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion that they must be a non-citizen in Australia to be eligible for a protection visa, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal noted that section 65(1) of the Act requires decision-makers to be satisfied that prescribed criteria for a visa have been met. In this instance, the Tribunal had received information indicating the applicant was no longer in Australia and did not hold a visa allowing their return. The applicant was invited to respond to this information or request an extension, but no communication was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). As this fundamental criterion was not met, 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.