1714694 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of a Malaysian national seeking a protection visa. The applicant claimed that Australia owed him protection obligations under refugee or complementary protection grounds due to the political and economic conditions in Malaysia.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36 of the *Migration Act 1958* and schedule 2 of the *Migration Regulations*. This involved assessing the applicant's claims regarding the political and economic situation in Malaysia, the potential for financial hardship, and the risk of being blacklisted due to an overdue student loan. The Tribunal also considered relevant policy guidelines and country information assessments.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was a national of Malaysia. While acknowledging the need to give the benefit of the doubt in questions of credit, the Tribunal emphasised that allegations must be made in detail and that greater weight could be given to one piece of evidence over another. The applicant's claims about the political and economic status of Malaysia, the need to borrow from illegal moneylenders, his student loan arrears, and resulting financial hardship were found to be brief and undetailed in his written submissions. However, his oral evidence before the Tribunal was more detailed and consistent with his evidence given at an earlier hearing, and therefore preferred. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had completed a qualification in 2016, undertaken an internship, and had a government student loan that was overdue, along with another loan being serviced by dividends. He had been working in Australia since August 2016, sending money home and maintaining modest savings. His stated reasons for leaving Malaysia were primarily political and economic, seeking a better lifestyle in Australia, and he left without any issues with the authorities. Despite these claims, the Tribunal ultimately affirmed the decision under review.