1806781 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant had previously left 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 for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen *in Australia*. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the applicant's substantive claims for protection given the preliminary issue.

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 that the applicant had departed Australia in September 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received by the time of the decision. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the statutory criterion for the grant of a protection visa.

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