1727410 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision concerning an applicant for a protection visa. The applicant claimed to be of Chinese Malaysian ethnicity and alleged he had been assaulted by Muslim gangs on two occasions, resulting in an injury to his left arm. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and whether Australia owed him protection obligations.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the protection visa. The applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing, despite being properly notified. Consequently, the Tribunal was unable to question the applicant about his claims. The Tribunal found that the applicant's submissions and the available documentation contained no substantive information or independent evidence to support his claims of persecution or harm in Malaysia. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that the applicant's stated history of continuous employment since 2015 and lifelong residence at the same address indicated a stable lifestyle inconsistent with the claimed persecution.

The Tribunal considered relevant policy guidelines and country information assessments as required by Ministerial Direction No. 56. However, in the absence of any supporting evidence from the applicant, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution. The Tribunal was satisfied that service of the hearing invitation was good and, pursuant to s.426A of the Migration Act 1958, proceeded to make its decision without further action to enable the applicant's appearance. The Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa under s.36(2) of the Act.