2406638 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Clyde Cosentino) considered the case of a citizen of Papua New Guinea who sought a protection visa in Australia. The applicant claimed that his life would be at risk if he returned to Papua New Guinea due to tribal violence in the Enga Province, which resulted in the deaths of his uncle and brother, and left him uncertain about the whereabouts of his parents and siblings.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant engaged Australia's protection obligations under the refugee criterion in section 36(2)(a) of the Act, or the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa) of the Act. The Tribunal was required to determine if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed from Australia to Papua New Guinea, the applicant faced a real risk of suffering significant harm.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa. While accepting that Papua New Guinea was the applicant's receiving country, the Tribunal found no suggestion that the applicant met the requirements of section 36(2) of the Act, either through satisfying the refugee criterion or the complementary protection criterion, nor by being a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa.