AQG15 v Minister for Immigration

In AQG15 v Minister for Immigration, the applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant, who had arrived in Australia without a visa, claimed to fear persecution in their country of origin. The Minister's delegate had refused the protection visa application, a decision that was subsequently affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicant then brought proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia seeking to challenge the Tribunal's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal had erred in law when it affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the protection visa. Specifically, the Court was required to consider whether the Tribunal had failed to adequately assess the applicant's claims of persecution, particularly in relation to the risk of harm from non-state actors, and whether it had properly applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) concerning the assessment of protection claims.

Judge Manouaridis found that the Tribunal had made a jurisdictional error. The Court reasoned that the Tribunal had failed to properly engage with the applicant's evidence regarding the specific nature of the threats they faced and the likelihood of such threats being carried out by non-state actors in their country of origin. The Court emphasised that a proper assessment of protection claims requires a detailed and nuanced consideration of all relevant evidence, including the potential for harm from entities not directly controlled by the state. The Tribunal's approach was found to be overly general and did not sufficiently address the applicant's particular circumstances.

Consequently, the Court quashed the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and remitted the matter to the Tribunal to be heard and determined according to law.