1414024 (Refugee)

The applicant, an Indian national, sought a protection visa in Australia. His initial application in 2009 was refused, and subsequent appeals were unsuccessful, leading to him becoming an unlawful non-citizen in 2010. After being located and detained in 2013, he made further requests for ministerial consideration, which were not granted. He then lodged the current application in September 2013. The Tribunal was required to determine whether it was confined to considering the applicant's claims against the complementary protection criterion, given his prior unsuccessful application based on the refugee criterion, and whether his claims for protection were credible and supported by independent country information.

The Tribunal applied section 48A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), which imposes a bar on further protection visa applications by non-citizens in the migration zone after a refusal. Relying on Federal Court authority, the Tribunal interpreted this section as applying only to applications that duplicate earlier ones by raising the same essential criteria. Consequently, as the applicant's initial application was considered against the refugee criterion (s.36(2)(a)), the Tribunal limited its assessment of the current application to the complementary protection criterion (s.36(2)(aa)). The Tribunal found the applicant's claims for protection lacked credibility due to inconsistencies between his written and oral statements, a lack of corroborating documentation, and implausible responses to questioning.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. It found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), as there was no suggestion he met the requirements for being a member of the same family unit as a person who satisfied the refugee or complementary protection criteria and held a protection visa.