Cangmah and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral, brought by the applicant, Cangmah, against the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to review the Minister's decision to refuse the applicant's citizenship application.

The core legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant satisfied the identity requirements under section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) and, crucially, whether the applicant was a person of good character for the purposes of section 21(2)(h) of the Act. The Tribunal considered the applicant's declarations regarding her parents' identities and whereabouts, and her own dealings with government authorities, in light of the character provisions.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on inconsistencies in the applicant's statements concerning her parents. Specifically, the Tribunal noted discrepancies between the applicant's earlier statements about her parents' unknown whereabouts and her later declarations providing specific dates of birth and a date of death for her mother. The Tribunal found these inconsistencies, particularly in relation to information provided in statutory declarations and Form 80, undermined the applicant's credibility. The Tribunal concluded that these credibility issues led it to find that the applicant was not a person of good character, both at the time of the Minister's decision and generally.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the Minister's decision to refuse the application for Australian citizenship by conferral.