1824036 (Refugee)

The applicant, an Ethiopian national of Amhara ethnicity, sought a protection visa in Australia. The dispute concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether he qualified as a refugee or was eligible for complementary protection due to substantial grounds for believing he would suffer significant harm if returned to Ethiopia. The matter was before the Tribunal for review of a previous decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues: first, whether the applicant met the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), which involves a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion; and second, whether the applicant alternatively met the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa), which requires a substantial ground for believing there is a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to a receiving country.

The Tribunal accepted that the applicant was an Ethiopian national and that Ethiopia was his receiving country. It considered the applicant's claims regarding past and present government hostility towards the Amhara people, his father's imprisonment and death due to his political opposition, and the applicant's own work for a non-government organisation which led to threats, detention, interrogation, and abuse. The Tribunal also took into account country information regarding improved conditions under a new government but noted recent full-scale armed ethnic conflict and volatile conditions. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant satisfied the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a) of the Act.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with the direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act.