2018384 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by applicants who had departed Australia. The core of the dispute revolved around the applicants' physical presence in Australia at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether they were a non-citizen in Australia as required by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal noted that movement records indicated the applicants had left Australia in January 2023. Consequently, they did not satisfy the criterion of being in Australia, which is a prerequisite for granting a protection visa under section 65(1) of the Act. The Tribunal had invited the applicants to comment on this information, but no response was received. As the applicants were not in Australia, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of their protection claims. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visas.