1702593 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear persecution due to their involvement in protests against corrupt officials, alleging that their former boss had connections to the government and had orchestrated an accusation letter leading to people attending the applicant's home. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirmed the Minister's decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, specifically political opinion, and whether they would be owed protection under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This involved assessing the credibility and substance of the applicant's claims regarding the protests, the alleged involvement of their former boss, and the subsequent threats to their safety.

The Tribunal found the applicant's claims to be lacking in sufficient detail to be accepted. The applicant did not attend the hearing before the Tribunal, and their written submissions did not provide adequate information to substantiate the asserted fear of persecution. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not discharged the onus of proving their claims to the requisite standard, and therefore, the decision under review was affirmed.