2406505 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa, who claimed to be a citizen of Papua New Guinea. The applicant alleged she had fled her country due to a violent incident involving her boyfriend's mother, which led to her boyfriend physically assaulting her. She also claimed to have suffered daily abuse from her family and experienced significant fear and isolation for approximately two years, leading to mental health issues. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant engaged Australia's protection obligations under either the refugee criterion (s 36(2)(a)) or the complementary protection criterion (s 36(2)(aa)) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal applied the principles of refugee and complementary protection as outlined in the *Migration Act*. It considered the applicant's claims in light of Ministerial Direction No. 84 and relevant guidelines. The Tribunal accepted that Papua New Guinea was the applicant's receiving country. However, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal found no basis to conclude that the applicant met the refugee criterion under s 36(2)(a) or the complementary protection criterion under s 36(2)(aa). Specifically, there was no suggestion that the applicant qualified under s 36(2) by being a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa and satisfied either of those criteria. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.