2305892 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa for Fiji. The applicant, a woman born in Fiji, claimed she feared persecution due to her ex-husband's alleged threats from the police and general instability in Fiji. She also raised concerns about economic hardship and her ability to find employment upon return.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958, specifically whether she had a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, or if she was owed complementary protection due to a real risk of significant harm. The Tribunal also considered whether she was a member of the same family unit as a person who met these criteria.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's own evidence and country information. Crucially, at the hearing, the applicant stated she no longer held the fears she had previously expressed, attributing them to a past political regime. She indicated her current concerns were primarily economic, relating to her ability to support her children and find work in Fiji. The Tribunal gave greater weight to official country information regarding Fiji's economic recovery and found that the applicant's claims of emotional and verbal abuse from her ex-husband did not reach the threshold of serious or significant harm required for protection. Furthermore, the Tribunal found no evidence that the applicant had a subjective fear of persecution or that she would face serious harm if returned to Fiji.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that she did not satisfy the criteria under section 36(2) of the Migration Act.