2009698 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had departed Australia. The dispute arose because movement records indicated the applicant was no longer in Australia, a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act. The Tribunal also had to determine how to proceed given the applicant's late and uninformative response to a request for comment on their absence from Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is physically present in Australia. As movement records confirmed the applicant had left Australia in March 2024, they did not meet this essential criterion. The Tribunal had invited the applicant to comment on this information, but the response was received late and contained no substantive information. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and, therefore, did not satisfy the requirements for a protection visa. The Tribunal concluded that 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.