Abdul Nacer Benbrika and Minister for Home Affairs, Commonwealth of Australia

The applicants, Abdul Nacer Benbrika and the Minister for Home Affairs, Commonwealth of Australia, brought proceedings before the High Court of Australia concerning the validity of a decision made by the Minister to cancel Mr Benbrika's Australian citizenship. The dispute centred on whether the Minister's decision was vitiated by a failure to afford Mr Benbrika procedural fairness.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Minister, in making the decision to cancel Mr Benbrika's citizenship under section 36(2)(b) of the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 (Cth), was obliged to provide Mr Benbrika with notice of the adverse information that formed the basis of the Minister's satisfaction that Mr Benbrika had engaged in conduct that was contrary to the Australian Citizenship Act, and to afford him an opportunity to respond to that information.

The Court reasoned that the cancellation of citizenship under section 36(2)(b) of the Act involved an exercise of power that affected the rights and interests of the individual. Applying the principles of procedural fairness, the Court held that where a decision-maker relies on adverse information that is not known to the person affected, and which is not so obviously true or incapable of challenge that it would be pointless to provide an opportunity to respond, then procedural fairness requires that the person be given notice of that information and an opportunity to make submissions. The Court found that the Minister's decision in this instance was vitiated by a failure to provide such procedural fairness.

The High Court ordered that the appeal be dismissed and the application for judicial review be granted, quashing the Minister's decision to cancel Mr Benbrika's citizenship.