1835983 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who was not in 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, as stipulated by s.36(2) of the relevant Act. This criterion is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in February 2019. Despite being notified of this information and invited to respond, the applicant provided no comment. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore failed to meet the essential criterion under s.36(2). As this threshold 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 protection visa.