1917842 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from China. The applicant had departed Australia, and the decision under review concerned the refusal to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant be a non-citizen present in Australia at the time of the decision. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 36(2) of the relevant Act mandates that an applicant for a protection visa must be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in December 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received by the stipulated deadline. 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 essential criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded 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.