2302768 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the protection visa applications of Applicant 1 and her adopted daughter, Applicant 2. The applicants sought review of decisions not to grant them protection visas. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, either as refugees or through complementary protection, based on Applicant 1's fear of her former husband.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Applicant 1 held a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group, and whether Australia had protection obligations towards either applicant under the refugee or complementary protection criteria. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if Applicant 1's fear of her former husband, stemming from his alleged drug addiction, physical assaults, and threats of killing and extortion, constituted a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership in a particular social group, and if effective protection measures were available in Malaysia.

The Tribunal considered the applicants' personal backgrounds and the relevant provisions of the Migration Act 1958, including definitions of "refugee," "well-founded fear of persecution," and "particular social group." The Tribunal noted that Applicant 1 had divorced her husband in 2015 and had been living in Australia since 2018, working on farms. The Tribunal also noted that Applicant 2 had lived with various relatives after the divorce before coming to Australia. The Tribunal concluded that there was no suggestion that either applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa, including the criterion relating to membership of the same family unit as a person who holds a protection visa.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the applicants protection visas.