2310230 (Refugee)

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

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they must be a non-citizen *in Australia* at the time of the decision, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act. This criterion is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa under section 65(1).

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's physical presence in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in January 2024. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting them to provide comments, but received no response. Based on the available evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant failed to meet the essential criterion under section 36(2) and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal deemed 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.