SZTSC v Minister for Immigration

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to review a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs to refuse the applicant, SZTSC, a protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear persecution in their country of origin due to their membership of a particular social group, specifically, women who had been subjected to domestic violence and who had subsequently left their abusive partners. The AAT affirmed the refusal of the protection visa.

The central legal issue before the Federal Court was whether the AAT had erred in law in its assessment of whether the applicant belonged to a "particular social group" for the purposes of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the Court to consider the criteria for defining a particular social group, particularly in the context of gender and experiences of domestic violence, and whether the AAT had applied these criteria correctly.

Justice Barnes found that the AAT had made an error of law. His Honour held that the AAT had failed to properly consider the evidence regarding the applicant's experiences of domestic violence and the societal context in her country of origin. The AAT had also erred in its application of the legal test for a particular social group, by focusing too narrowly on the applicant's individual circumstances rather than the broader characteristics of the group. The Court reiterated that a particular social group can be defined by shared characteristics, including gender and experiences of domestic violence, where these characteristics are recognised as defining features within the relevant society and lead to a well-founded fear of persecution.

The Federal Court set aside the AAT's decision and remitted the matter to the AAT for redetermination in accordance with the Court's reasons.