1724804 (Refugee)

The applicant, an Indonesian citizen, sought a protection visa in Australia. The dispute concerned whether Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant, either under the refugee criterion or complementary protection grounds. The Tribunal was required to assess the applicant's claims against Indonesia as the country of reference and receiving country.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for being a refugee under section 5H(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and whether Australia had protection obligations under the complementary protection provisions, specifically section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, which requires a substantial ground for believing there is a real risk of significant harm upon removal to a receiving country. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's stated fear of persecution against Malaysia, which was inferred to be an inadvertent error, with the applicant's claims ultimately being assessed in relation to Indonesia.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant, being an Indonesian citizen, had provided no evidence suggesting a right to reside in any other country, thus confirming Indonesia as his country of nationality and the relevant receiving country. Applying the provisions of the Act, the Tribunal found that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons outlined in section 5J(1) of the Act if returned to Indonesia. Furthermore, the Tribunal was not satisfied that there were substantial grounds for believing the applicant would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Indonesia. The Tribunal also noted that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for complementary protection on the basis of being a member of the same family unit as a person who holds a protection visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) of the Act.