1516302 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the claims of two applicants seeking a protection visa for themselves and their two sons. The applicants, who are married and of "coloured" South African ethnicity, arrived in Australia in December 2013. They claimed to fear persecution in South Africa due to their race, generalised crime and violence, and difficulties in securing employment. The second applicant claimed protection as a member of the first applicant's family unit, while their sons made separate protection claims.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa or complementary protection. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the applicants' race, the prevalence of crime and violence in South Africa, and the challenges of employment in their home country would place them at risk of harm or persecution. In making its decision, the Tribunal was obliged to consider relevant policy guidelines and country information assessments prepared by government departments, as mandated by Ministerial Direction No. 56.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that the applicants did not meet the criteria for a protection visa. While acknowledging the applicants' experiences of crime, including a robbery of their eldest son and a car break-in, the Tribunal found that these incidents did not establish a real chance of persecution. The Tribunal noted that the applicants had not reported all incidents to the police, and that the police response, while sometimes delayed, did not demonstrate a systemic failure to protect the applicants or a lack of protection based on their race. The Tribunal also considered the applicants' claims regarding drug-related crime and gang activity, but found that these generalised issues did not amount to a well-founded fear of persecution. The Tribunal did not find that the applicants' race placed them at a heightened risk of harm.