1835826 (Refugee)

The applicant, a Cambodian national, sought a protection visa, claiming she would face persecution upon return to Cambodia due to her status as a divorced woman and a prior conviction for drug offences in Australia. She asserted that Cambodian authorities would treat her as an undesirable, detain her in a rehabilitation camp notorious for torture and forced labour, and that she would not receive protection in her home country. The decision under review affirmed the refusal of her protection visa application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2) of the relevant Act, specifically concerning membership of a particular social group and the risk of serious harm. This required the Tribunal to assess whether her circumstances, namely being a divorced woman with a drug conviction, constituted a particular social group and whether the feared treatment in Cambodia amounted to persecution or serious harm as defined by refugee law. The Tribunal also considered relevant policy guidelines from the Department of Immigration.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's evidence regarding her fears of detention and mistreatment in Cambodia. It acknowledged that stigma might exist for divorced women and individuals with drug convictions. However, the Tribunal found that this stigma, while present, did not rise to a level that would constitute serious harm or persecution. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not established that she would be a member of a particular social group in a way that would expose her to a well-founded fear of persecution. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.