1621605 (Refugee)

The applicant, a person of Chinese ethnicity born in Myanmar and holding a Taiwanese passport, sought a protection visa in Australia. The dispute concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether she faced persecution or significant harm if returned to Taiwan due to her ethnicity and the discrimination she claimed to experience there. The matter was before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant met the refugee criterion under s.36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958, which involves a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Alternatively, the Tribunal had to consider if the applicant met the complementary protection criterion under s.36(2)(aa), which requires substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims of discrimination in Taiwan, including being treated as inferior, only obtaining low-level work with low pay, and the absence of anti-discrimination laws. It noted that the applicant had not experienced physical harm but claimed significant mental harm. The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the Migration Act, including the definitions of significant harm and the circumstances under which a person is not taken to face a real risk of significant harm. It also took into account Ministerial Direction No. 56 and associated policy and country information. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the refugee criterion.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.