Buy17 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

This matter concerned an application for protection visas by a mother and her three children, citizens of Malaysia. The applicants arrived in Australia on 15 September 2015, and the first applicant applied for visas on 29 October 2015, with her children included as members of the family unit. A delegate found that the applicants failed to meet the criteria for protection visas, and this decision was affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) on 29 March 2017, following hearings at which the first applicant gave evidence.

The legal issues before the court were whether the Tribunal erred in its assessment of the first applicant's claims of fear of harm. These claims encompassed various grounds, including her Chinese ethnicity, status as a single mother, Buddhist religion, interest in Christianity, political activity, and alleged persecution by her ex-husband, his associates, and her own family. The applicants also claimed discrimination against the children due to their ethnicity and financial status.

Street J found that the Tribunal had made adverse credibility findings against the first applicant based on inconsistencies and changes in her evidence regarding her ex-husband's alleged ongoing harassment and violence. The Tribunal considered the first applicant's decision to purchase a home in the same town as her ex-husband for a period after their separation, and her failure to seek protection during previous visits to Australia. Furthermore, the Tribunal rejected the corroborative evidence from the first applicant's eldest son and current husband, finding them not to be independent witnesses and considering the possibility of collusion. The Tribunal concluded that the applicants did not face a real chance or real risk of significant harm based on their ethnicity, financial status, or religion, and that the violence from the ex-husband had ceased upon the first applicant's departure. The court ultimately dismissed the application.