1915175 (Refugee)

The applicant, a national of Malaysia, sought a protection visa on the grounds that she feared harm if returned to her home country due to her adherence to underground Christianity. The dispute before the Tribunal was whether the applicant faced a real chance of serious harm or a real risk of significant harm upon return to Malaysia, thereby engaging Australia's protection obligations.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were to determine if the applicant was a refugee within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958, specifically whether she held a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of religion, and if such persecution would involve serious harm and systematic and discriminatory conduct. The Tribunal was also required to consider whether effective protection measures were available to the applicant in Malaysia, and if she could reasonably relocate within Malaysia to avoid any such risk.

The Tribunal reasoned that the mere assertion of fear does not establish its genuineness or that it is well-founded. It is incumbent upon the applicant to provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the statutory elements of her claim. The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims of harassment by police and torture of fellow church members, but found that the applicant had not satisfied the Tribunal that she would face persecution for one of the specified reasons, that the persecution would involve serious harm, or that it would be systematic and discriminatory. Furthermore, the Tribunal was not satisfied that effective protection was unavailable or that relocation was unreasonable. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.