2002399 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from Fiji. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for the visa, specifically the requirement of being present in Australia.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act, for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on movement records indicating the applicant had left Australia in December 2023. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no response. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the essential criterion under section 36(2). As this fundamental requirement was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.