1827090 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Malaysia, sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear persecution in Malaysia due to debts incurred in business and the actions of money lenders, asserting that this placed them within a particular social group. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal had affirmed the Minister's decision, and the applicant then sought judicial review of the Tribunal's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the Tribunal had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claim to be a member of a particular social group for the purposes of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Specifically, the court considered whether the Tribunal had correctly applied the established criteria for identifying a particular social group, particularly in the context of economic hardship and the actions of private individuals such as money lenders.

The Court reasoned that the Tribunal had correctly applied the principles established in *K v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs* [2004] HCA 30 and *SZSSJ v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs* [2010] FCA 1344. It found that the applicant's fear stemmed from general economic conditions and the consequences of business debts, rather than a well-founded fear of persecution based on membership of a particular social group. The Tribunal's finding that the applicant's circumstances did not constitute membership of a particular social group, as defined by the relevant legal tests, was not vitiated by any error of law.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.