BILIWAL v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, Biliwal, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in section 5(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the delegate of the Minister had reasonably considered the applicant's claims of past persecution and the real chance of future persecution, particularly in light of the applicant's alleged membership in a particular social group and the political situation in their country of origin. The court was required to determine if the delegate's adverse credibility findings were justified and if the assessment of the risk of harm was conducted in accordance with the relevant legal standards.

Judge Obradovic found that the delegate had failed to adequately assess the applicant's claims regarding the specific nature of the persecution they feared and the reasons for that fear. The delegate's adverse credibility findings were not sufficiently substantiated, and the assessment of the risk of future persecution did not properly account for the applicant's stated reasons for fearing harm. Consequently, the delegate's decision was found to be affected by jurisdictional error. The application for judicial review was therefore granted.