2217080 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had departed Australia. The Tribunal, constituted by Member Rosa Gagliardi, was tasked with determining whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of the visa.

The central 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. This requirement is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa under section 65(1) of the Act.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's physical presence in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in December 2023. The Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the fundamental criterion for a protection visa. As a result, it was unnecessary for the Tribunal to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.