2101535 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had departed Australia. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen *in Australia* at the time of the decision, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the Act mandates that a visa can only be granted if prescribed criteria are met, and section 36(2) specifically requires the applicant to be in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in September 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 criterion under section 36(2). The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa, finding it unnecessary to consider the substantive claims for protection.