2007695 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Protection visa made by a citizen of China. The applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal sought to contact her to comment on information indicating she was no longer in the country.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion for a Protection visa that she must be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act. The Tribunal also had to determine if it had taken reasonable steps to notify the applicant of the information and provide an opportunity to respond.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in November 2022. A letter sent to the applicant's provided email address on 15 February 2023, advising her of this and inviting comment, was returned as undeliverable. As the applicant had not provided an alternative address, the Tribunal was satisfied that reasonable steps had been taken to notify her. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the requirement of being in Australia, rendering it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of her protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Protection visa.