1708808 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a woman from Malaysia. The applicant claimed she feared returning to Malaysia due to her abusive ex-boyfriend and financial difficulties, stating she would suffer depression and worry, and that her ex-boyfriend would find and emotionally abuse her regardless of where she lived in Malaysia. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether there was a real chance the applicant would suffer serious harm on return to Malaysia based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, or alternatively, whether there was a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of her removal.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims in light of the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), including the criteria for a well-founded fear of persecution and the complementary protection criterion. It also took into account Ministerial Direction No. 56 and associated policy and country information. The applicant's claims of abuse by her ex-boyfriend, including him once throwing a ball at her and using his hands "once or twice," were assessed. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had not contacted the police and had not had contact with her ex-boyfriend for a long time, and he had not contacted her family.

The Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a protection visa. It found that the harm feared, primarily emotional abuse and depression stemming from a past relationship and financial concerns, did not amount to serious harm or significant harm as defined by the Act. Furthermore, the Tribunal did not find that the applicant belonged to a particular social group for the purposes of the Act, nor that she faced a real risk of persecution or significant harm that was not faced by the population generally. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.