1832557 (Refugee)

The applicants, Malaysian citizens of Murut ethnicity and Christian faith, sought review of a decision concerning their application for a protection visa. They arrived in Australia in December 2017 and applied for protection visas in April 2018, remaining in Australia since. The dispute centred on whether they met the criteria for a protection visa, either as refugees or through complementary protection.

The court was required to determine two primary issues. Firstly, whether there was a real chance that the applicants would be persecuted in Malaysia for one of the five specified reasons under section 5J(1)(a) of the Act, thereby qualifying them for refugee status. Secondly, if they did not meet the refugee criterion, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of their removal to Malaysia, they faced a real risk of suffering significant harm under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, engaging Australia's complementary protection obligations.

The Tribunal found that the applicants did not fear persecution in Malaysia for any of the reasons outlined in section 5J(1)(a). While acknowledging potential low-level discrimination in obtaining work based on ethnicity or religion, the Tribunal concluded, with reference to country information, that this did not amount to a real chance of serious harm. The applicants themselves indicated they left Malaysia for better economic opportunities and wished to remain in Australia for the same reason, rather than to flee persecution. The Tribunal was not satisfied that they had been persecuted or would face persecution in the reasonably foreseeable future. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.