1613224 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of a woman from the Philippines who sought a protection visa. The applicant claimed she feared serious physical harm from her former de facto partner, detailing a history of controlling and violent behaviour, including threats with a weapon and being locked out of her home. The applicant's children were included in the application but had not made individual claims.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically under section 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958, which concerns complementary protection obligations. This required the Tribunal to determine if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed from Australia to the Philippines, the applicant faced a real risk of suffering significant harm. The Tribunal also had to consider the relevant policy guidelines and country information assessments as mandated by Ministerial Direction No. 56.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided credible and convincing evidence of past violence and threats from her former partner, including instances where he displayed a weapon and threatened to kill them both if she ended the relationship. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant met the criterion set out in section 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration, directing that the applicant satisfied section 36(2)(aa) and that her children satisfied section 36(2)(c)(i) on the basis of being members of the same family unit.