1716527 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Malaysia, sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to be a member of a particular social group, specifically a family unit, and asserted that if returned to Malaysia, they would face persecution due to their religious beliefs and the application of Sharia law. The applicant had been married against their parents' wishes, and an extra-marital sexual encounter was discovered by religious police, leading to a fine and a one-month prison sentence. The applicant departed Malaysia while on bail pending an appeal against this sentence.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had established that they would, if returned to Malaysia, be a refugee within the meaning of section 5 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the court to consider whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group, and whether the harm they feared amounted to significant harm. The court also had to assess the reliability and relevance of the country information presented regarding the application of Sharia law in Malaysia and the potential consequences for the applicant.

The court found that the country information indicated that Sharia law in Malaysia could be discriminatory and that imprisonment, as imposed on the applicant, amounted to significant harm. The court accepted that the applicant's circumstances, including the forced marriage and the subsequent discovery of the extra-marital encounter, placed them within a particular social group. Given these findings, the court determined that the Minister's decision was not in accordance with the law. Consequently, the court remitted the decision to the Minister for reconsideration.