EDQ16 v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, EDQ16, 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 matter came before Judge Heffernan in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the applicant's subjective fear of persecution was objectively reasonable, given the country information available at the time of the decision. Specifically, the court had to determine if the applicant's fear of harm due to their alleged membership in a particular social group was well-founded, considering the Minister's assessment of the risk of harm in the applicant's country of origin.

Judge Heffernan applied the principles established in *Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh* and *Applicant S20/2002 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs*. The court considered the applicant's personal circumstances, their stated reasons for fearing persecution, and the objective country information. The judge found that the applicant had not discharged the onus of establishing a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, as the available country information did not support the likelihood of the applicant facing harm as alleged. The court concluded that the Minister's decision was not affected by jurisdictional error.