1929081 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) reviewed a decision concerning a protection visa application made by a primary applicant, an Indigenous Fijian, and his family. The dispute centred on whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically under the refugee or complementary protection provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the primary applicant held a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion or race, and whether Australia owed protection obligations to the applicants under either the refugee criterion (s 36(2)(a)) or the complementary protection criterion (s 36(2)(aa)) of the Act. The Tribunal also considered the best interests of the applicants' children and whether compassionate circumstances warranted referral for ministerial intervention.

The Tribunal affirmed the original decision not to grant a protection visa, finding that the primary applicant did not satisfy the refugee criterion due to a lack of a well-founded fear of persecution, particularly in light of the recent change of government in Fiji and restored freedoms. Similarly, the complementary protection criterion was not met. Despite this, the Tribunal considered the applicants' significant period of residence in Australia, the children's ties to Australia, and the father's past political involvement, concluding that unique or exceptional circumstances existed. Consequently, the Tribunal referred the case to the Minister for consideration of intervention powers under s 417 of the Act, while affirming the refusal of the protection visa.