1503887 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Fijian national, who claimed to be a member of the PISAI and Fiji Native Government in Exile, and who alleged he was a civil servant in a supervisory position. The applicant asserted that he had been subjected to degrading treatment by the Fiji Military Forces and feared for his life and that of his family. The second applicant was his spouse, and the remaining applicants were their children, who relied on their membership of the family unit for their claims.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group. Specifically, the court needed to assess if the applicant's fear of the Fijian military forces was based on his ethnic Fijian race, his Christian religion, an imputed political opinion, or his social group as a civil servant in a supervisory position who had been victimised. The court also had to consider the eligibility of the other applicants as members of the same family unit.

The court considered the applicant's account of being subjected to degrading treatment by an officer of the Fiji Military Forces, who was the brother of a vehicle owner for whom the applicant had issued a certificate of fitness. The applicant alleged that the officer attempted to force him to pay for repairs to the vehicle and, upon refusal, subjected him to physical mistreatment at a naval base, threatening further harm. The applicant also expressed a fear of general civil unrest and killings following the upcoming general elections, believing that the military junta would remain in power and that the officer might use the unrest as a pretext to kill him. The court examined the evidence in light of the criteria for a protection visa, including the definition of "member of the same family unit" as provided by the Regulations.