Dabbousi and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

The applicant, Mr. Dabbousi, sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse his application for Australian citizenship. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Dabbousi met the good character requirement stipulated by the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The matter was heard by Deputy President Bernard J McCabe.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether Mr. Dabbousi was a person of good character for the purposes of section 21 of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*. This required the Tribunal to weigh evidence of the applicant's traffic offences and his failure to disclose prior convictions against positive character references provided by community leaders, including his general practitioner.

Deputy President McCabe acknowledged the applicant's traffic record and the omission of convictions from his application. However, he gave significant weight to the character references, which strongly indicated that Mr. Dabbousi was a man of honesty and integrity who was contributing positively to Australian society. On balance, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant met the good character requirement. The decision under review was set aside, and the Tribunal substituted a decision that Mr. Dabbousi was of good character at the time of the Minister's decision, meaning he should be granted citizenship subject to satisfying other legislative requirements.