1815924 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for protection visas by individuals who had departed Australia. The dispute arose because movement records indicated the applicants were no longer in Australia, a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act. This criterion is fundamental to the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 65(1) of the Act, a visa can only be granted if the prescribed criteria are met. The Tribunal was satisfied, based on movement records, that the applicants had left Australia in May 2019. Despite being notified of this information and invited to comment, the applicants did not respond. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicants did not meet the requirement of being in Australia, and therefore could not be granted protection visas. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visas.