1800633 (Refugee)

The applicants, a married couple from China, sought review of the Department's decision to refuse their protection visas. Their claims for protection were based on a fear of persecution due to their Christian religion and the primary applicant's alleged breach of China's family planning policy. The applicants had lodged their protection visa applications after entering Australia on tourist visas and subsequently consented to the Tribunal making a decision on the papers before it, having declined to attend a scheduled hearing.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants had a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to China, thereby meeting the refugee provisions of the Migration Act 1958, or alternatively, whether they met the complementary protection criteria due to a real risk of significant harm upon removal. The Tribunal considered the applicants' written statements, Department of Foreign Affairs country information, and relevant departmental guidelines.

The Tribunal found that the applicants were citizens of China and that China was the relevant receiving country. While acknowledging the applicants' claims regarding past persecution of their house church and the detention of the primary applicant's father, the Tribunal was not satisfied that these past events, or the general situation of Christians in China, established a well-founded fear of persecution for the applicants personally. Furthermore, the Tribunal found no substantial grounds to believe that the applicants would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed to China, nor that they could not access effective protection within China.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants protection visas, finding that they did not satisfy the criteria under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the Migration Act 1958.