2309836 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Samoa, sought review of a decision by the Minister to affirm a decision not to grant a protection visa. The applicant had previously been granted a protection visa, but had subsequently left Australia and returned. The Minister's delegate had refused to grant a protection visa, finding that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution. This decision was affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Tribunal had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claims for protection. Specifically, the court was required to consider whether the Tribunal had properly applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) in determining whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

The court found that the Tribunal had made a jurisdictional error by failing to consider all the evidence before it, including evidence relating to events that occurred after the applicant's initial grant of protection. The Tribunal had also failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision, particularly in relation to its assessment of the applicant's credibility. Consequently, the court set aside the Tribunal's decision and remitted the matter to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.