1920470 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision to refuse a protection visa application made by a citizen of China. The applicant claimed to fear persecution in China due to his religious beliefs and activities associated with a house church. The Tribunal considered evidence including supplementary statements from the applicant detailing his religious background, his uncle's detention by police for house church activities, and his own fear of returning to China due to worsening religious persecution. The applicant also provided a baptism certificate and letters from a pastor and elder of a church he attended in Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations. This required determining if the applicant met the criteria for being a refugee under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), or alternatively, if he faced a real risk of significant harm upon removal to China under the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa). The Tribunal also had to consider the definitions of "refugee," "well-founded fear of persecution," and "significant harm" as outlined in the Act and relevant Ministerial Directions.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant was a citizen of China and that China was the relevant receiving country. While the applicant provided evidence of his religious practice and fear of persecution, the Tribunal ultimately concluded that the decision under review should be set aside. The Tribunal found that the applicant satisfied the criterion under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*, indicating he met the definition of a refugee.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*.