2316637 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse a protection visa. The applicant, who is from the Solomon Islands, claimed that if returned, he and his family would starve due to widespread poverty and be harassed by a debtor until a debt was repaid. The applicant argued that relocation within the Solomon Islands was not a viable option due to the pervasive nature of poverty and the lack of assistance from any organisation or authority. The court was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the reasons specified in section 5J(1) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), and whether there was a real chance of persecution upon return. Alternatively, the court had to consider if there were substantial grounds for believing that the applicant would suffer significant harm, as defined in section 36(2A) of the Act, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia.

The delegate had previously found that the applicant's claims regarding starvation and widespread poverty did not fall within the prescribed reasons for persecution under section 5J(1)(a) of the Act, and that there was no further information suggesting harm for those reasons. The delegate also concluded that the applicant could avail himself of effective state protection regarding the threat of harassment from a debtor. The Tribunal, having considered the documentary evidence and the delegate's decision, invited the applicant to attend a review hearing. However, the applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing and attempts by the Tribunal to contact him by telephone were unsuccessful.

Given the applicant's non-attendance and the inability to contact him, the Tribunal proceeded to make a decision on the review based on the material before it, pursuant to section 426A of the Act. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant had been properly invited to the hearing. The decision affirmed the delegate's refusal of the protection visa.