Migration Act 1958

In considering a valid application for a protection visa made by a non‑citizen, the Minister must consider and make a record of whether the Minister is satisfied of any of the following:

the non‑citizen satisfies the criterion in paragraph 36(2)(a) with respect to a country and also satisfies the criterion in subsection 36(1C);

the non‑citizen satisfies the criterion in paragraph 36(2)(aa) with respect to a country;

the non‑citizen:

satisfies the criterion in paragraph 36(2)(a) with respect to a country but does not satisfy the criterion in subsection 36(1C); and

would satisfy the criterion in paragraph 36(2)(aa) with respect to a country except that the non‑citizen is a non‑citizen mentioned in paragraph 36(2)(a).

The Minister must do so:

before deciding whether to grant or refuse to grant the visa; and

before considering whether the non‑citizen satisfies any other criteria for the grant of the visa; and

before considering whether the grant of the visa is prevented by any provision of the Act or regulations; and

without regard to subsections 36(2C) and (3).

Subsection (1) does not apply if:

the non‑citizen (the family applicant) is a member of the same family unit as another non‑citizen (the family visa holder) who holds a protection visa of the same class as the visa the family applicant is applying for; and

the family applicant’s application for a protection visa was made before the family visa holder was granted their visa; and

the family visa holder is a non‑citizen mentioned in paragraph 36(2)(a) or (aa).