WZAOI v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

[2011] HCASL 185

WZAOI
v
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP & ANOR
[2011] HCASL 185
P38/2011

1. The applicant is a citizen of the People's Republic of China.  She entered Australia in July 2009 on a temporary Student Guardian visa.  In July 2010, she applied for a protection visa.  She claimed to fear persecution in China arising from her practice of Falun Gong.  On 25 October 2010 the Minister's delegate refused the application.

2. The applicant applied for merits review of the delegate's decision before the Refugee Review Tribunal ("the Tribunal").  The Tribunal invited the applicant to attend a hearing to present evidence and argument in support of her application.  The invitation was sent by registered post to the address specified as the applicant's address for correspondence in her application.  The applicant did not appear before the Tribunal on the day scheduled for the hearing.  The Tribunal determined the review without taking any further action to enable the applicant to appear before it.  It affirmed the delegate's decision.  It found that the applicant's claims were unable to be tested.  It was not satisfied that the applicant's claim to being a genuine Falun Gong practitioner was established or that she had a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention-related reason. 

3. An application for judicial review of the Tribunal's decision was dismissed by the Federal Magistrates Court (Lucev FM).

4. An appeal to the Federal Court (McKerracher J) was dismissed.

5. The application for special leave to appeal from the orders of the Federal Court is hopeless.  The proposed grounds contain an assertion that the applicant meets "refugee criteria" and that the Minister could not have considered the evidence that favours her application.  Nothing in the applicant's written case engages with the reasoning of the court below.  There is no reason to doubt the correctness of that decision.  If special leave to appeal were granted the appeal would have no prospect of success.

6. The application is dismissed.

7. Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

J.D. Heydon
26 October 2011 V.M. Bell