1718615 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision concerning two applicants for protection visas, who claimed to be nationals and citizens of China. The applicants alleged that the secondary applicant had practised Falun Gong since 2012 and had suffered persecution, including arrests, detention, inhumane treatment, and torture, for this reason. They further claimed that upon returning to China, they would face persecution due to their Falun Gong practice.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether they qualified as refugees or were eligible for complementary protection. This involved assessing the veracity of their claims of persecution in China and determining if they had a well-founded fear of persecution based on their Falun Gong practice. The Tribunal also considered whether effective protection measures were available to them in China and whether they could reasonably relocate within China to avoid any risk of harm.

The Tribunal noted that it had properly invited the applicants to a hearing but they failed to attend. Consequently, the Tribunal exercised its discretion to proceed with the decision without further attempts to secure their attendance, relying on the material before it. After considering the available country information and the applicants' claims, the Tribunal concluded that it could not adequately question the applicants about the veracity of their claims due to their non-attendance.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants Protection (Class XA) (Subclass 866) visas.