1813265 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Vietnam, sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear harm from Vietnamese authorities due to their alleged political opinion, which they asserted was demonstrated by their participation in protests concerning environmental damage caused by Formosa in 2016 and the publication of articles on social media platforms, including a photograph of the applicant at a protest.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), specifically for their political opinion. This required the court to assess the credibility of the applicant's claims and the evidence presented to support their fear of harm from the Vietnamese authorities.

The court affirmed the delegate's decision, finding that the applicant had not discharged the onus of proving a well-founded fear of persecution. While acknowledging the applicant's claimed participation in protests and social media activity, the court noted the lack of evidence to substantiate these claims. Specifically, the articles published by the applicant could no longer be located, and there was no independent evidence to indicate that the applicant or their family members had suffered harm or persecution as a result of their alleged political activities. The court concluded that the evidence did not support a finding that the applicant held a genuine subjective fear, nor that there was an objective likelihood of persecution.