AVS15 v Minister for Immigration

AVS15 (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 without a visa, claimed to fear persecution in their country of origin due to their membership of a particular social group. 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.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claim that they were a member of a particular social group for the purposes of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Specifically, the Court was required to consider whether the Tribunal had correctly applied the principles established in *Applicant A v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection* [2021] HCA 17 regarding the identification and assessment of a "particular social group" in the context of protection visa claims.

Judge Street found that the Tribunal had failed to adequately consider the evidence presented by the applicant regarding the formation and characteristics of the alleged social group. The Court reiterated that a particular social group must be defined by a common characteristic that binds its members together, and that this characteristic must be recognisable to others in the society of the country of origin. The Tribunal's reasoning was found to be insufficiently detailed in demonstrating how it had applied this test to the specific facts of the applicant's case, leading to an error of law.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal be set aside and remitted to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.