1918080 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant had left Australia, and the Tribunal sought to communicate with them regarding their visa status.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement under section 36(2) of the Act that the applicant must be a non-citizen *in* Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in June 2019. Consequently, the Tribunal contacted the applicant, informing them that they could not be granted a protection visa as they were no longer in Australia and invited them to respond by 10 March 2020. As no response was received by the stipulated date or at the time of the decision, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. This finding meant the applicant failed to satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act, rendering it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of their protection claim.

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