1720835 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Vietnamese national. The applicant claimed she feared persecution in Vietnam due to her gender identity and membership of a particular social group, citing experiences of family ostracism, workplace discrimination, and social ridicule. The decision under review was made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, specifically relating to her gender and membership of a particular social group. This required the Tribunal to assess the credibility of the applicant's claims and consider whether the treatment she alleged she would face in Vietnam met the threshold for persecution under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the Refugee Convention. The Tribunal also had to consider the available country information regarding the situation for transgender individuals in Vietnam.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution. While acknowledging the applicant's experiences of discrimination and ostracism, the Tribunal concluded that her private social meetings in Vietnam, where she engaged in overt gender presentation within private homes, did not equate to a public presentation that would expose her to a real chance of persecution. The Tribunal also noted that the applicant had not undergone gender reassignment surgery at that time and was not overtly presenting as a woman in Vietnam. The Tribunal considered the country information, which indicated a lack of specific anti-discrimination laws in Vietnam, but found that the applicant's circumstances did not demonstrate a real chance of persecution.

The Tribunal remitted the decision to the Immigration Assessment Authority for reconsideration.