SZVSD v Minister for Immigration

SZVSD (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant, who had arrived in Australia without a visa, claimed to fear persecution in their country of origin due to their membership of a particular social group. The Minister's delegate had refused the protection visa application, a decision that was subsequently affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The applicant then sought review of the AAT's decision in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the AAT had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claim for a protection visa. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if the AAT had correctly applied the principles established in *K v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection* [2019] FCA 1996, concerning the assessment of whether a person holds a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group. This involved examining whether the AAT had adequately considered the evidence before it and whether its findings were reasonably open to it on the evidence.

The Court found that the AAT had failed to properly consider the evidence relating to the applicant's alleged membership of a particular social group. It was held that the AAT had adopted an overly narrow interpretation of the concept of a "particular social group" and had not adequately engaged with the evidence that suggested the applicant's fear was linked to this group. The Court reiterated the principles from *K*, emphasizing that a particular social group must be defined by a common characteristic that binds its members, and that this characteristic must be recognisable to others in the country of origin. The AAT's failure to properly apply these principles constituted an error of law.

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