1707329 (Refugee)

The applicants, who arrived in Australia in November 2016, sought review of the Department's refusal to grant them protection visas. The applicants had initially entered Australia on tourist visas in October 2016. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), specifically whether Australia had protection obligations towards them.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicants were persons in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations, either because they were refugees within the meaning of section 5H of the Act, or because there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of their removal from Australia, they would suffer significant harm under section 36(2)(aa). The Tribunal was required to consider the applicants' claims in light of the Department of Home Affairs' Refugee Law Guidelines and Complementary Protection Guidelines, as well as country information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Tribunal concluded that it was not satisfied that the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa. It found that the applicants did not satisfy the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a) or the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa). Consequently, as they did not meet these primary criteria, they were also unable to satisfy the criteria for family members under sections 36(2)(b) or (c). The Tribunal therefore affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visas.