1916210 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision not to grant a protection visa to a citizen of Papua New Guinea. The applicant claimed she feared harm from the wife of a man with whom she had a relationship, alleging the wife believed the applicant had stolen her husband. The applicant asserted this fear constituted membership of a particular social group, namely "persons who have had a relationship with a married person who is not their spouse."

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958, specifically whether she had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group. The Tribunal also considered the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa), which requires a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia.

The Tribunal accepted the applicant was a citizen of PNG and that it was her receiving country. However, it found that while the applicant had received threatening text messages from the wife of her former partner, she had never been approached by her in person. The relationship had ceased, and there was no recent contact. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm upon return to PNG. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.