SZIOG v Minister for Immigration & Anor

SZIOG brought this application under s.476 of the Migration Act seeking judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Review Tribunal which affirmed a decision of a delegate to refuse to grant a protection visa. The Tribunal found the applicant’s evidence to be problematic and concluded that she was either intentionally evasive or vague or was confused. The applicant claimed to have been persecuted by the Chinese government because she was a member of Falun Gong, and that she had suffered a crackdown on the practice of her religion. The Tribunal did not accept her evidence because of inconsistencies in her statements and because it considered that she did not possess sufficient knowledge of Falun Gong to be a genuine practitioner.

The Court considered whether the Tribunal’s decision was affected by jurisdictional error. The Court noted that it did not have the power to decide whether the applicant’s claim should be believed, nor whether she qualified for a protection visa. The Court held that the Tribunal was entitled to find that the applicant’s evidence was problematic, and that it was open to the Tribunal to conclude that she was not a credible witness. The Court held that the Tribunal’s decision was not affected by jurisdictional error.

The Court dismissed the application and ordered the applicant to pay the Minister’s costs in the sum of $5,000.