1925306 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) reviewed a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs to refuse the applicant a Protection visa. The applicant claimed to have fled Malaysia due to financial impropriety by business partners, leading to investor complaints, a police report, a conviction, and physical harm from investors. He feared harm, death, or arrest upon return to Malaysia.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a Protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This involved assessing whether Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant, specifically whether he qualified as a refugee under section 5H(1)(a) due to a well-founded fear of persecution, or alternatively, whether he faced a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Malaysia under section 36(2)(aa).

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not provided sufficient detail regarding his claims of harm, the nature of that harm, or a real chance of experiencing significant harm if returned to Malaysia. The Tribunal reiterated that the onus is on the applicant to establish their case with sufficient particulars and evidence, and that the Tribunal is not obligated to make the applicant's case for them. The applicant had also consented to the Tribunal making a decision on the papers without a hearing.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a Protection visa, as the applicant had not satisfied the criteria under section 36(2) of the Act.