1728245 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the protection visa claims of several applicants from Vietnam. The primary dispute concerned whether the first applicant was owed protection obligations by Australia under section 36(2)(a) or 36(2)(aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). If protection obligations were owed to the first applicant, the other applicants, as family members, would also qualify. The Tribunal was satisfied with the applicants' identities and their status as citizens of Vietnam, which was considered the receiving country.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the first applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, as defined by section 5J of the Act, and whether Australia had protection obligations under section 36(2)(a). Additionally, the Tribunal was to consider whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Vietnam, the first applicant would suffer significant harm, thereby engaging section 36(2)(aa). The Tribunal also had to address a preliminary issue regarding the validity and disclosure of a certificate issued under section 438 of the Act, which contained potentially adverse information about the applicants.

The Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the claims for complementary protection under section 36(2)(aa) because it was satisfied that protection obligations were owed to the first applicant under section 36(2)(a). This determination was made in accordance with Ministerial Direction No. 84, the Refugee Law Guidelines, Complementary Protection Guidelines, and country information assessments. The Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicants satisfy section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).