2104422 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the protection visa applications of three Chinese citizens. The applicants claimed to be practitioners of Falun Gong and asserted a fear of persecution, arrest, and imprisonment if returned to China due to their religious beliefs and alleged monitoring by the Chinese Communist Party. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which involves assessing whether they are refugees with a well-founded fear of persecution or face a real risk of significant harm upon removal to China.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicants' obligation to establish their claims. It noted that while an applicant's account should be given the benefit of the doubt if credible, this benefit is contingent on all available evidence being obtained and checked, and the examiner being satisfied of the applicant's general credibility. The Tribunal found that the applicants had not satisfied the statutory elements required to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm. Specifically, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicants were persons in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants protection visas, as they failed to satisfy the criteria under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). As a result, they were also unable to satisfy the criteria under section 36(2)(b) or (c) for family members.