2205215 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Sri Lankan national. The applicant claimed he faced a real chance of serious harm or a real risk of significant harm if returned to Sri Lanka due to his past involvement with a disability support charity and his refusal to cease volunteering when the charity’s leadership changed due to political opposition. He alleged he and his brother were harassed, threatened, and physically assaulted by the bodyguards of the new leader, and that the Sri Lankan police failed to act on his complaints. The applicant arrived in Australia in December 2017.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under s 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) by having a well-founded fear of persecution, or alternatively, whether he met the complementary protection criterion under s 36(2)(aa) by facing a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Sri Lanka. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims in light of relevant country information and guidelines, including Ministerial Direction No. 84.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that the applicant did not face a real chance of serious harm or a real risk of significant harm upon return to Sri Lanka. The Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant had ever been of adverse interest to any person or group in Sri Lanka, nor did it accept his claims of volunteering, political campaigning, or being targeted, threatened, or harmed. The Tribunal also found that the applicant's decision to renew his Sri Lankan passport while in Australia, without incident, suggested he did not have a profile of interest with Sri Lankan authorities. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution or faced a real risk of significant harm.