1808564 (Refugee)

The applicant sought a Protection visa following his arrival in Australia in February 2017. The dispute concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for a Protection visa, specifically whether he had a well-founded fear of persecution or faced a real risk of significant harm if returned to Sri Lanka. The decision was made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant was a refugee within the meaning of section 5H of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion, or alternatively, whether he met the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, facing a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Sri Lanka. The Tribunal also considered whether it was reasonable for the applicant to relocate within Sri Lanka and whether the Sri Lankan authorities could provide effective protection.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's history of political involvement in Sri Lanka, including his work for the PA party and his witnessing of a killing, which led to his questioning and torture by police. It noted that the applicant had been urged to leave Sri Lanka by a politician, Mr B, and had experienced multiple returns from a third country. The Tribunal found that country information supported the applicant's contentions that the Sri Lankan police were influenced by political power and did not provide an effective system for protection against serious harm. It concluded that the applicant would not receive adequate state protection and that relocation within Sri Lanka would be unreasonable, particularly given the needs of his child.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration, directing that the first applicant satisfied the criterion under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*, and that the other applicants, as members of the same family unit, satisfied the criterion under section 36(2)(b)(i).