Al-Sabaawi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by the Applicant, who claimed to have a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity preventing her from understanding the nature of the application, as contemplated by paragraph 21(3)(d) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs opposed the application. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether the Applicant met the criteria for citizenship by conferral due to incapacity.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Applicant suffered from a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity at the time of her citizenship application that directly caused her inability to understand the nature of the application, specifically her capacity to learn English and sit the citizenship test. The Tribunal considered the medical evidence provided by the Applicant, including reports from a consultant psychiatrist and a clinical social worker, alongside the Minister's submissions.

The Tribunal accepted that the Applicant suffered from depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as diagnosed by her treating psychiatrist. However, it found that the medical reports did not establish a causal link between these conditions and an incapacity to learn English. The Tribunal noted that the psychiatrist's observations regarding below-average intelligence and an inability to learn a new language at this stage of life did not equate to a diagnosed incapacity that prevented her from meeting the citizenship requirements. Furthermore, the Tribunal found persuasive the opinion that the Applicant's experiences and conditions would not prevent her from learning English and that she may have been exaggerating her concentration and memory problems. The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.