1712973 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse the applicant a protection visa. The applicant, a Malaysian national, arrived in Australia in August 2015 and subsequently became an unlawful non-citizen before applying for a protection visa in October 2016. The applicant claimed to have suffered various forms of harm and discrimination in Malaysia, including due to assisting a friend scammed by a migration agent, threats from criminal connections of the agent, being attacked, and facing discrimination for her pro-LGBTI views and support for inter-religious marriages. The applicant also raised new claims during the review process, including sexual assault by a former boyfriend who was a police officer, a miscarriage in a foreign country, and a lesbian relationship with a friend.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for one or more of the reasons specified in section 5J(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), and if not, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of her removal to Malaysia, she faced a real risk of suffering significant harm. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims in light of the 'Refugee Law Guidelines', 'Complementary Protection Guidelines', and country information assessments.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims and the evidence presented, noting that Malaysia was the receiving country. The Tribunal applied the principles outlined in *MIAC v MZYYL* [2012] FCAFC 147, which states that protection is available if the risk of significant harm is reduced to something less than a 'real risk' by available protection measures. The Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2) of the Act, as there was no suggestion she was a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa.

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