Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) 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:
(a) 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);
(b) the non - citizen satisfies the criterion in paragraph 36(2)(aa) with respect to a country;
(c) the non - citizen:
(i) satisfies the criterion in paragraph 36(2)(a) with respect to a country but does not satisfy the criterion in subsection 36(1C); and
(ii) 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).
(2) The Minister must do so:
(a) before deciding whether to grant or refuse to grant the visa; and
(b) before considering whether the non - citizen satisfies any other criteria for the grant of the visa; and
(c) before considering whether the grant of the visa is prevented by any provision of the Act or regulations; and
(d) without regard to subsections 36(2C) and (3).
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if:
(a) 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
(b) the family applicant's application for a protection visa was made before the family visa holder was granted their visa; and
(c) the family visa holder is a non - citizen mentioned in paragraph 36(2)(a) or (aa).