1415902 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for protection visas by a family unit comprising a primary applicant, her spouse, and their child, all citizens and nationals of China. The applicants had previously had their protection visa applications refused, with those decisions affirmed by the Refugee Review Tribunal and subsequent applications for judicial review dismissed by the Full Federal Court. The applicants lodged their current applications in November 2013.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants' claims for protection were credible. In determining this, the Tribunal was required to consider the applicants' claims in light of Ministerial Direction No. 56, which mandates consideration of relevant policy guidelines and country information assessments prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the protection visas. It found that the applicants had not satisfied the criteria set out in s 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the Act, which relate to being a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicants were unable to satisfy the further criteria under s 36(2)(b) or (c) and were therefore not eligible for the grant of a protection visa.