1903294 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a Protection visa by a citizen of Papua New Guinea and his daughter, who was born in Australia. The first applicant claimed he had a well-founded fear of persecution due to his family circumstances and a breakdown in his relationship with his father, which led to him being told to leave the family home. The core of the dispute was whether the applicants would face a real chance of suffering significant harm if returned to Papua New Guinea, thereby engaging Australia's protection obligations.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of the applicants' removal to Papua New Guinea, they faced a real risk of suffering significant harm, and whether they met the definition of a refugee under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Tribunal was required to consider the applicants' claims and the evidence provided, while also acknowledging that the onus was on the applicants to establish their case and that the Tribunal was not obliged to make their case for them or accept all allegations uncritically.

The Tribunal considered Ministerial Direction No. 84 and relevant guidelines, including those on refugee law and complementary protection. In a separate, related decision concerning the second applicant's mother, the Tribunal had found that both the second applicant and her mother met the definition of refugees. Based on this prior assessment and the circumstances presented, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that the applicants satisfy section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), indicating a finding that they are persons in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations.