1709883 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a Sunni Muslim from Lebanon, claimed to fear harm from Maronite Christians and Shia Muslims due to his political activities as an active supporter of Rafiq Hariri. The Tribunal was required to assess the applicant's credibility and determine whether, based on his accepted claims, he met the criteria for a protection visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was the credibility of the applicant's claims regarding his political affiliations and the resulting fear of persecution. The Tribunal also had to consider whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act), which defines a refugee, or alternatively, under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, which pertains to complementary protection where there is a real risk of significant harm upon removal from Australia. The Tribunal was obliged to consider relevant guidelines and country information, including the DFAT Country Information Report – Lebanon, 19 March 2019.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a). However, after considering the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa), the Tribunal was satisfied that Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant. The Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act.