ALD16 v Minister for Immigration

ALD16 (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant, who had arrived in Australia by boat, claimed to fear persecution in their country of origin due to their membership of a particular social group. The matter came before Judge Baird in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in section 5H of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), specifically for membership of a particular social group. This required the Court to assess the applicant's claims and the evidence presented in support of those claims, and to determine if the Minister's decision had misapplied the relevant legal criteria for granting a protection visa.

Judge Baird considered the evidence relating to the applicant's alleged persecution and the characteristics of the claimed particular social group. The Court applied the principles established in cases concerning the definition of a "particular social group" for the purposes of the *Migration Act*, including the need for the group to be defined by a common characteristic that is immutable or fundamental to the identity of its members, and that is recognised as such by society. The Court found that the applicant had not adduced sufficient evidence to establish that they belonged to a particular social group that would attract the protection of the *Migration Act*. Consequently, the Court determined that the Minister's decision to refuse the protection visa was not vitiated by error.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.