Aan17 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

This matter concerned an application for review by the Applicant, a Chinese national, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal's decision to affirm the delegate's refusal to grant her and her husband a visa. The Applicants had arrived in Australia on tourist visas and subsequently applied for a further visa, which was refused by the delegate. The Tribunal affirmed this decision after a hearing. The Applicants then filed an application for review in the Federal Court.

The Applicant advanced three primary claims: a fear of harm and persecution as a practising Christian, alleging a police raid on her home during a church gathering where she was detained and issued a release certificate, and the subsequent revocation of her business licence on the basis of being "anti-government". The Tribunal, however, made several findings adverse to the Applicant's claims. It did not accept the Applicant had been a practising Christian for 30 years, nor that she had suddenly come to the attention of authorities following a raid. The authenticity of the release certificate was also not accepted, nor was the claim of friends being arrested. The Tribunal did accept the Applicant's diligence in church work in Melbourne but found that if returned to China, she would likely engage in small-scale, low-level, non-political church-going. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded the Applicant did not have a well-founded fear of persecution or a real chance of serious harm based on her religious practice.

The Applicant's first ground of review alleged that the Tribunal's analysis of her Christian practice was unreasonable, illogical, and irrational, arguing it was subjective rather than evidence-based. This was particularised by reference to the Tribunal's reasoning at paragraph [15], which suggested a practising Christian would have referred to "the Lord's Prayer or similar". Blake J dismissed the application for review, finding that the Tribunal's reasoning was not flawed in the manner alleged by the Applicant.