1918098 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a Protection Visa by a national of Papua New Guinea. The applicant claimed that he would be killed if returned to his home country due to his status as the grandson of a man accused of sorcery, whose death had led to tribal warfare. The applicant had previously been in Australia on student and tourist visas, with his student visa being cancelled in June 2017, after which he became an unlawful non-citizen. He lodged his Protection Visa application in January 2019. The decision under review was made by a delegate of the Minister.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a Protection Visa, specifically whether he qualified as a refugee, and if not, whether he was entitled to complementary protection. The Tribunal was required to assess the credibility of the applicant's claims, considering the evidence presented, including his own statements, statutory declarations, and country information, as well as the delay in his application for protection after his visa cancellation.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, concluding that the applicant had not established he met the criteria for a Protection Visa. While acknowledging the applicant's claims regarding his grandfather's alleged sorcery and the subsequent tribal conflict, the Tribunal found inconsistencies in his evidence and a significant delay in lodging his protection claim after becoming an unlawful non-citizen. The Tribunal considered the available evidence, including country information, but ultimately determined that the applicant had not demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution or a real chance of suffering significant harm upon return to Papua New Guinea. The Tribunal found that the applicant was a national of Papua New Guinea and that it was his country of nationality and receiving country, and that he was not excluded from Australia's protection obligations.