1507901 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a Protection (Class XA) visa. The applicant sought review of a decision to refuse to grant this visa. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa as set out in section 36 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and Schedule 2 of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant was a non-citizen in Australia in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Convention) due to a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, or alternatively, whether there were substantial grounds for believing there was a real risk of significant harm if removed from Australia to Bangladesh under the complementary protection criterion. The Tribunal was also required to consider relevant policy guidelines and country information.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims and evidence in light of the legislative criteria. It found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Act, which relates to Convention refugee status, nor did the applicant satisfy the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa). Furthermore, there was no suggestion that the applicant qualified as a family member of a person who met these criteria.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision to refuse to grant a Protection (Class XA) visa and substituted a decision to refuse to grant a Protection (Class XD) visa.