1928685 (Refugee)

The applicant, a white South African of Afrikaner descent, sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse his application for a protection visa. The applicant contended that he faced a real chance of suffering significant harm if returned to South Africa due to his race and ethnicity, specifically as an Afrikaner. He argued that his inability to obtain employment due to the Black Economic Empowerment Act (BEE) and the risk of violent crime, coupled with a lack of effective police protection, constituted grounds for protection.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the applicant had established that he would, if returned to South Africa, be a refugee within the meaning of section 5 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the court to determine if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race or membership of a particular social group, and if the harm he feared was significant harm. The court also considered whether any delay in the applicant's claim for protection was relevant to its assessment.

The court affirmed the Minister's decision, finding that the applicant had not demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution. While acknowledging the challenges faced by some white South Africans in obtaining employment due to the BEE, the court found that this did not, in itself, amount to persecution for a Convention reason. Furthermore, the court was not satisfied that the applicant faced a real chance of significant harm from violent crime or a lack of police protection that would meet the threshold for refugee status. The court also noted that any delay in lodging the protection claim did not alter the assessment of the applicant's fear.