2400206 (Refugee)

This decision concerns an application for a protection visa by a citizen of Solomon Islands. The applicant's claims were assessed by the Tribunal, which considered the Department of Home Affairs' Refugee Law Guidelines and Complementary Protection Guidelines, as well as the Tribunal's own guidelines on the assessment of credibility. The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under either the refugee or complementary protection provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant qualified as a refugee, as defined by section 5H(1)(a) of the Act, by having a well-founded fear of persecution, and alternatively, whether Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant under the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, meaning there were substantial grounds for believing a real risk of significant harm upon removal to Solomon Islands. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant met the criteria under sections 36(2)(b) or (c) as a family member of someone who held a protection visa.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims lacked the necessary detail and supporting evidence to be considered credible. Furthermore, the applicant had failed to provide comments or responses to adverse information. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that there was no identifiable country information that could support the applicant's claims, and no credible evidence was presented to engage Australia's protection obligations. The Tribunal concluded that there was no real chance the applicant would be persecuted if returned to Solomon Islands, nor a real risk of suffering significant harm.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), nor the family unit criteria under sections 36(2)(b) or (c).