1718281 (Refugee)

The applicant, a national of the People's Republic of China, sought a protection visa, claiming he was a follower of I-Kuan-Tao and feared persecution in his home country. He arrived in Australia in December 2012 and lodged his protection visa application in February 2017. The applicant's claims centred on his religious conversion and the subsequent actions of the authorities against his family and fellow practitioners in his hometown of Hebei Province, including the searching and closure of altars and the penalisation of his family.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), and if not, whether he was entitled to complementary protection under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's well-founded fear of persecution based on his religious beliefs and the real risk of suffering significant harm upon removal from Australia.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. While acknowledging the applicant's stated adherence to I-Kuan-Tao and the reported incidents of authorities searching and closing altars in his hometown, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion for being a refugee. Furthermore, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the complementary protection criterion, as there were no substantial grounds to believe that he would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed from Australia. The Tribunal's decision was based on its assessment of the evidence presented in light of the relevant legislative provisions and guidelines.