1703530 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by a delegate of the Minister to refuse the applicant's protection visa application. The applicant, a citizen of Taiwan, had arrived in Australia on a working holiday visa in February 2014, overstayed her visa, and applied for a protection visa approximately 12 months later. The delegate had found the applicant's claims lacked credibility due to delays and inconsistencies with country information, and alternatively, that Taiwan offered adequate state protection.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations under the refugee or complementary protection criteria. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicant's claims, considering the delay in her application and the late introduction of new claims, and evaluating the availability of state protection in Taiwan. The Tribunal also considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hearing process and the applicant's representative's conduct.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not provided a satisfactory explanation for the significant delay in applying for protection or for presenting late claims and evidence. Consequently, the Tribunal drew an adverse inference regarding the credibility of these late claims, as required by section 423A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Tribunal noted that the applicant had allowed a misleading application to be lodged on her behalf and only disclosed what approximated the true facts after considerable questioning. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's claims were not credible, were likely fabricated or materially embellished, and were inconsistent with available country information. The Tribunal preferred to rely on credible country information and found that the applicant did not subjectively hold a genuine fear of harm in Taiwan.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the protection visa.