SZTSZ v Minister for Immigration & Border Protection

The applicant, SZTSZ, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute concerned the Minister's assessment of the applicant's claims of persecution. The matter came before Emmett J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate of the Minister had failed to properly consider the applicant's claims of past persecution and fear of future persecution in accordance with the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth), particularly in relation to the assessment of the applicant's credibility and the country information relied upon.

Emmett J found that the delegate had failed to adequately assess the applicant's credibility, particularly in relation to inconsistencies in the applicant's account. The Court held that the delegate had not properly considered the applicant's subjective fear of persecution in light of the objective country information. The principles applied included the requirement for a decision-maker to undertake a holistic assessment of the evidence and to provide adequate reasons for their findings, especially when adverse credibility findings are made.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for redetermination according to law.