2316448 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Timor-Leste, sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear persecution in Timor-Leste due to threats from money lenders, alleging that they had confiscated property and threatened to kill him following financial hardship arising from a loan agreement. The matter came before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant's fear of harm from the money lenders constituted a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, specifically membership of a 'particular social group'. The Court was required to determine if the group of individuals targeted by these money lenders, based on their inability to repay loans, could be characterised as a particular social group for the purposes of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Furthermore, the Court had to consider whether the Timorese state could provide effective protection to the applicant against the alleged threats.

The Court reasoned that the applicant's fear stemmed from private actors and a dispute over a loan agreement, rather than from a protected ground under the Refugee Convention. It was held that the group of debtors unable to repay loans to these money lenders did not constitute a 'particular social group' as it lacked the necessary defining characteristic beyond the mere fact of indebtedness. The Court found that the applicant had not established that the Timorese authorities were unwilling or unable to protect him from the alleged threats, and therefore, the fear of persecution was not well-founded. The decision under review was affirmed.