1918048 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for protection visas by two applicants. The dispute arose because the Department of Home Affairs records indicated that the applicants were no longer in Australia, which is 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 under section 65(1) of the Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that, based on Department of Home Affairs records, the applicants had departed Australia in November 2019 and did not hold visas that would permit their return. The Tribunal had communicated this information to the applicants and invited them to respond by a specified date, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicants were not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the essential criterion for a protection visa. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visas.