2300774 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse a protection visa. The applicant, an Indo-Fijian male, claimed he feared returning to Fiji due to his father's history of alcohol abuse, violence towards his mother, and physical abuse and threats directed at him. The delegate had refused the visa based on the applicant's claims of financial difficulty, which were not considered sufficient for a protection visa.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) as a refugee, or alternatively, under section 36(2)(aa) as a person facing a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims of family violence, the effectiveness of state protection in Fiji, and the possibility of internal relocation.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's evidence of his father's violent and abusive behaviour, including threats with weapons and verbal abuse, stemming from alcohol abuse. It noted that while the applicant's mother had previously sought police intervention, she had ceased doing so to protect the applicant's schooling and the family's financial stability. The Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the refugee criterion under s 36(2)(a). However, it determined that the applicant satisfied the complementary protection criterion under s 36(2)(aa), finding substantial grounds to believe that as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Fiji, there was a real risk the applicant would suffer significant harm. The Tribunal also considered and dismissed the application of s 36(3) regarding the availability of third country protection.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(aa) of the *Migration Act 1958*.