1517039 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for protection visas by two applicants who claimed to be citizens of Malaysia. The applicants had entered Australia in July 2013 but did not lodge their protection visa applications until June 2015. The primary applicant alleged that he had been targeted due to his participation in opposition activities and his Chinese ethnicity and Christian religion, citing incidents of threats, vandalism, and the revocation of his hawker licence. The Tribunal was required to determine whether Australia owed protection obligations to either applicant.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) (the Act), which relates to a well-founded fear of persecution, or under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, which concerns complementary protection obligations due to a real risk of significant harm. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicants had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and whether effective protection measures were available in Malaysia.

The Tribunal found that both applicants were citizens of Malaysia and that Malaysia was their country of nationality and a receiving country for the purposes of complementary protection. It also found no evidence that the applicants had a right to enter and reside in a safe third country. Applying Ministerial Direction No. 56, the Tribunal considered relevant policy guidelines and country information. Ultimately, the Tribunal was not satisfied that either applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution or faced a real risk of significant harm upon removal to Malaysia. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the protection visas.