1910444 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen who was not physically present in Australia. The applicant sought review of 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 their absence from Australia.

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 the applicant had departed Australia in July 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no reply. 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. As this threshold requirement was not met, the Tribunal determined it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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