1922087 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Fiji, sought a protection visa, claiming a well-founded fear of returning to Fiji due to potential harm from his wife's family and her new partner, and also citing unemployment and the high cost of living exacerbated by Cyclone Yasa and the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision under review was made by a Senior Member of the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of the applicant's removal to Fiji, he faced a real risk of suffering significant harm, thereby establishing that Australia had protection obligations towards him under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant had provided sufficient evidence to establish his claims.

The Tribunal reasoned that the onus was on the applicant to specify and evidence his claims, and that the Tribunal was not obliged to make his case for him or accept his allegations uncritically. The applicant's claims of potential harm from his wife's family were considered speculative, and his assertion that Fijian authorities could not completely protect him was not substantiated. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that the applicant had not satisfied the criteria under section 36(2) of the Act, as his claims did not establish a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Protection visa.