1936633 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a Protection visa (class XA, subclass 866) by an indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) national of Fiji. The applicant arrived in Australia in September 2019 and applied for the visa on 30 August 2019. The Department of Home Affairs refused to grant the visa, though a bridging visa was granted. The applicant sought review of this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Australia had protection obligations in respect of the applicant. This required consideration of whether the applicant met the refugee criterion under s 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) or the complementary protection criterion under s 36(2)(aa). The applicant’s claims centred on alleged mistreatment by military officers due to his iTaukei ethnicity, fear of torture based on past incidents, and the undemocratic nature of the Fijian government following the 2006 coup.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, concluding that Australia did not have protection obligations towards the applicant. While acknowledging the applicant's iTaukei ethnicity and his claims of work-related demands and fear stemming from past events and the political climate in Fiji, the Tribunal found no evidence of past harm or a real chance of significant harm upon return. The Tribunal considered the applicant's employment history and his claims of fear, but ultimately determined that these did not establish a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm as required by the Act. The Tribunal also found that s 36(3) of the Act, concerning third country protection, did not apply.