1703341 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a Protection visa by two applicants, nationals of Thailand. The applicants claimed they feared harm if returned to Thailand due to threats from "influential people" and a gang known as "The Hilltop," alleging that nowhere in Thailand was safe. The Tribunal was required to determine whether Australia had protection obligations towards the applicants.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicants met the refugee criterion under s 36(2)(a) of the Act, or alternatively, the complementary protection criterion under s 36(2)(aa) of the Act. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicants' claims and considering whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia, they would suffer significant harm. The Tribunal was also mandated to consider relevant guidelines and country information as per Ministerial Direction No. 84.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that Australia did not have protection obligations towards the applicants. While accepting the applicants' identities and nationality as Thai, the Tribunal noted that the claims presented were not those of the applicants themselves, but had been drafted by an unregistered third party. This lack of personal assertion and the circumstances surrounding the drafting of the claims appear to have significantly impacted the Tribunal's assessment of their credibility and the substance of the protection claims. The Tribunal also considered, in accordance with Ministerial Direction No. 84, the Refugee Law Guidelines and Complementary Protection Guidelines, as well as country information assessments.