1808717 (Refugee)

The applicant, a person of Chinese ethnicity from Indonesia, sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to have experienced discrimination in workplaces and the community in Indonesia, including being beaten by colleagues after reporting the theft of money. The applicant also expressed a desire for education and opportunities in Australia. The delegate's decision was made on the consent of the applicant, without a hearing, and affirmed the refusal of the visa.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the delegate's decision to affirm the refusal of the protection visa was affected by an error of law. This involved considering whether the applicant's claims, as presented, were sufficiently detailed and substantiated to warrant further assessment under the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth), particularly concerning the assessment of a well-founded fear of persecution.

The court noted that the applicant's claims were brief and undetailed, lacking specific information about the nature and extent of the alleged discrimination and the risk of future harm. Given the limited information provided, and the applicant's consent to the decision being made without a hearing, the court found that the delegate had not erred in law by affirming the refusal. The court applied the principle that a delegate is entitled to make a decision based on the information before them, and where an applicant consents to a decision without a hearing, the threshold for establishing an error of law is high.

The court affirmed the delegate's decision.