Al Batat and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by Mr Al Batat, who had been refused by the delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The dispute centred on whether Mr Al Batat satisfied the legislative requirement to be of good character, as stipulated by section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The decision was made by Dr L Bygrave, a Member of the Tribunal.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Al Batat's past behaviour, specifically an incident involving "bad language" and traffic offences, demonstrated a lack of good character, and if any mitigating factors or explanations could outweigh such behaviour. The Tribunal was required to determine if, on the totality of the evidence, Mr Al Batat possessed the "enduring moral qualities" indicative of good character.

The Tribunal reasoned that despite a regrettable incident at a citizenship test appointment, there were significant extenuating circumstances. These included Mr Al Batat's stress and fatigue due to his grandmother's passing the night before and a long drive on the day of the appointment, compounded by the Department's failure to provide an interpreter as requested. The Tribunal found these factors explained the "out of character" behaviour and did not reflect a pattern of poor conduct. Considering his efforts in education, employment, community involvement, and his remorse, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Al Batat demonstrated good character. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision and remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that Mr Al Batat is of good character.