1824207 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a Vietnamese national. The applicant's claim for a protection visa was refused, and the Tribunal was tasked with reviewing this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant must be a non-citizen present in Australia. The Tribunal also had to consider the implications of the applicant's departure from Australia and their failure to respond to Tribunal communications.

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 January 2019. The Tribunal had communicated with the applicant on 10 May 2019, noting their absence from Australia and inviting comment by 24 May 2019. No response 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 criterion was not met, the Tribunal found it 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.