2206611 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa for Australia, having arrived in April 2019. The applicant claimed past persecution in Myanmar due to online activities criticising the government's treatment of the Rohingya, which allegedly led to police warnings, arrest, and detention. The applicant also claimed to have fled Myanmar to avoid further persecution. The delegate of the Minister refused to grant the protection visa, finding inconsistencies between the applicant's written statement and oral evidence, particularly regarding the nature of his detention and the explanation for the delay in applying for the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for one or more of the five prescribed reasons under section 5J(1) of the Migration Act 1958, or alternatively, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that the applicant would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Myanmar. Key issues included the applicant's credibility, the explanation for the delay in lodging the protection visa application, and the interpretation of his past experiences in Myanmar.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's explanation for the inconsistencies in his claims and the delay in applying for the visa, particularly in light of the February 2021 military coup, was not sufficiently persuasive. The delegate had noted that the applicant struggled to reconcile his written statement of being jailed with his oral evidence of hiding, and that his claims about criticising the military in 2018 were not adequately explained in the context of his later departure. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's written claims appeared to have been prepared by others and did not accurately reflect his experiences.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration. The decision indicates that the Tribunal was satisfied that Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act, implying that the applicant met the criteria for being a refugee.