1933108 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Thailand, sought a protection visa in Australia. The dispute concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, either as a refugee or through complementary protection, based on a fear of harm from a moneylender in Thailand. The case was heard by Anne Grant, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant qualified as a refugee under the Migration Act 1958, and if not, whether there was a real risk of significant harm to the applicant as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of their return to Thailand, thereby engaging Australia's complementary protection obligations. The Tribunal also considered the availability of state protection in Thailand.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the definition of a refugee. While the applicant had a well-founded fear of harm, this fear was not based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group. The Tribunal reasoned that owing a debt, even one incurred as a guarantor for a cousin's loan, did not constitute an innate or immutable characteristic, nor was it a characteristic fundamental to the applicant's identity or conscience, which are requirements for membership in a particular social group under the Act. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that the threats from the moneylender had ceased, and there was no indication of ongoing interest from the lender, suggesting the risk was not of a continuing nature. Consequently, the applicant did not meet the criteria for complementary protection.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.