1904653 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a citizen of Bangladesh. The applicant claimed to have been involved with the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and to have suffered political persecution, including threats, kidnapping, assault, and false charges, at the hands of Awami League (AL) workers. The applicant had arrived in Australia in 2013 and subsequently made a protection visa application in 2016. The decision under review affirmed the previous decisions not to grant the applicant a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This involved determining whether the applicant was a refugee within the meaning of section 5H of the Act, or whether Australia had protection obligations under section 36(2)(aa) due to a real risk of significant harm upon removal to Bangladesh. The court also considered the definition of "significant harm" as outlined in section 36(2A) and the circumstances in which a real risk of such harm would not be taken to exist under section 36(2B).

The court affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa. It found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion under section 36(2)(a) of the Act, which requires the applicant to be a refugee with a well-founded fear of persecution. Furthermore, the court noted that there was no suggestion that the applicant satisfied the criteria under section 36(2)(b) or (c) as a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa. Consequently, the applicant did not meet the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.