2112135 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a Vietnamese national. The applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal had invited them to provide comments or a response regarding information indicating their absence from the country. No response was received by the Tribunal within the specified timeframe.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that the applicant must be a non-citizen in Australia. The Tribunal also considered whether it was appropriate to make a decision without inviting the applicant to a hearing, given their lack of response.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in April 2023. Pursuant to section 424A of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), the Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited a written response by 15 May 2024. As no response was received, the Tribunal concluded it was appropriate to proceed with a decision without a hearing. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore, the criterion under section 36(2) was not met. Consequently, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.