1831501 (Refugee)

The applicant, a national of Ghana, sought a protection visa, claiming a well-founded fear of persecution due to a dispute with relatives over land inheritance. The applicant alleged that following his grandfather's death and the reading of his unwritten will, his father was severely beaten and threatened by family members who disagreed with the distribution of property, which favoured the applicant and his father. The applicant asserted that his own life was at risk if he returned to Ghana, as his family was also searching for him and the Ghanaian authorities would not provide protection.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, as defined by the Migration Act 1958. Specifically, the court needed to assess if the alleged harm constituted serious harm and if it involved systematic and discriminatory conduct, and whether effective protection measures were available to the applicant in Ghana. The court also considered whether the applicant's fear was based on a characteristic that was fundamental to his identity or conscience, or an innate or immutable characteristic, or if it distinguished him from society.

The court found the applicant's claims and evidence to be inconsistent, unsupported, and implausible. It noted that the applicant had returned to Ghana for his grandfather's funeral rites and remained there for seven months without incident before returning to Australia. The court also considered the applicant's partner being a citizen of a third country and his children being Australian-born, but concluded that any separation from them would not be systematic and discriminatory. The court applied the principles of section 5J of the Migration Act 1958 regarding well-founded fear of persecution, including the requirement for systematic and discriminatory conduct and the availability of effective protection.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.