SZSTN v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, SZSTN, 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 the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before Judge Barnes of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Refugee Convention criteria for a protection visa had been met. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and whether the Minister's delegate had erred in finding that such a fear was not established.

Judge Barnes 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 evidence presented by the applicant regarding past experiences and potential future harm. The delegate's assessment of the applicant's credibility and the objective country information were scrutinised. The Court found that the delegate had failed to adequately consider certain aspects of the applicant's evidence and had made an error in assessing the risk of harm.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister's delegate be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.