1905074 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an appeal against a decision of the Refugee Tribunal regarding a protection visa application made by two applicants from Fiji. The first applicant, who had made the primary claims for protection, had since passed away, and it was stated that the second applicant had no independent claims of her own. The second applicant's claims were largely based on her deceased husband's alleged political involvement and her son-in-law's activism.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the second applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), particularly concerning imputed political opinion and the risk of harm in Fiji. The court also considered the application of complementary protection guidelines and the relevance of country information. A key consideration was whether the risks faced by the applicants were general to the population of Fiji or specific to them personally, and whether there were internal relocation options or protection available within Fiji.

The Tribunal found that it had no jurisdiction in relation to the first applicant due to his death. For the second applicant, the Tribunal considered her claims that her deceased husband was a member of the SODELPA party and hosted meetings, and that her son-in-law was vocal in the media against the government. However, the Tribunal noted that the second applicant acknowledged multiple previous visits to Australia before lodging her protection claim and that her husband had no leadership role in the party. The Tribunal also considered the provisions of section 36(2B) of the Act, which preclude complementary protection where it is reasonable to relocate within the country, protection is available from an authority, or the risk is faced by the population generally.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the second applicant a protection visa. The court found no suggestion that the second applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa based on being a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa.