In an emailed statement, a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson acknowledged that some of the lines of questioning were “inappropriate and insensitive”, and said that “appropriate action was taken in relation to this case”. The departmental decision maker on the FOI request noted that the interviews were conducted by a single case officer, who had been “counselled about their conduct”.



Brown told BuzzFeed News that this was not an isolated incident.



“There are numerous examples of inappropriate sexually explicit and stereotypical lines of questioning in Australian tribunals and courts,” Brown said. “Ridiculously, there have been instances where gay people have been tested on their knowledge of Oscar Wilde or particular gay nightclubs on Oxford Street, and applicants have felt compelled to produce footage of sexual encounters to prove their claim.”



Decision-makers should focus instead on applicants’ “self-identification and exploring their personal narrative about the realisation and experience of their identity, including feelings of difference, stigma and internalised shame, and the fear of harm in their country of origin,” said Brown.

Australian NGO Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation developed a guide in 2015 to questioning LGBTI applicants, based on European and international best practice, which recommends a focus on sense of self, narrative, and life story.



The FOI request decision record stated that the department’s approach to interviews with LGBTI protection visa applicants had “shifted significantly” since 2012.

“Since 2012, the Department has significantly strengthened its guidelines, and provided additional training, on assessing LGBTI claims and conducting applicant interviews in a sensitive manner,” the spokesperson said, adding that the department was committed to “supporting LGBTI individuals throughout the protection visa assessment process”.



A document called “Assessing claims related to sexual orientation and gender identity” was released by the Department of Home Affairs under FOI in May 2017 (but not otherwise published). The document, which was described as providing “policy and procedural guidance” for assessing protection claims relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, states that it is “important that questions assess the credibility of the LGBTI but are also sensitive and not intrusive”.



“It is not appropriate for officers to ask applicants for details of sexual activity,” it says. The document recommends decision-makers ask applicants about experiences of self-realisation, any sense of difference or shame, experiences hiding their identity, exclusion from family or community, attempts to conform to avoid mistreatment, and experiences of past mistreatment. BuzzFeed News has sought clarification from the Department of Home Affairs on the status of the document.



Dawson told BuzzFeed News that the department only developed guidelines for the first time in the past few years, and that questioning had “no doubt” improved since then.



“The clear issue in Australia, however, is that of publicly available guidelines, training, and statistics on how the department seeks to improve its decision-making. Without transparency, it is difficult for civil society, media, and academia to provide oversight and evaluation of the department’s handling of these claims,” Dawson said.



The interview transcripts were released under FOI laws in September. Unusually, while the fact that documents had been released was listed on the department’s disclosure log, the documents were not made available for download. The department did not respond to a question about why this is.



The department declined to say whether the men were eventually granted protection visas.