1813954 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen who had departed Australia. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the threshold requirement for the grant of such a 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 a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa under section 65(1).

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on movement records indicating the applicant had left Australia in August 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no response. 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 this fundamental requirement was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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