Daghagheleh and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for citizenship by conferral by Mr Daghagheleh, an Iranian national, who sought to set aside the Minister's decision to refuse his application. The dispute centred on whether the applicant satisfied the "good character" requirement under section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), represented by Senior Member Dr Damien Cremean, was tasked with reviewing the Minister's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if Mr Daghagheleh was of good character at the time of the Minister's decision. This required an assessment of his past conduct, particularly in light of several criminal convictions, against the criteria for good character as understood in Australian citizenship law and departmental policy. The Tribunal had to consider whether his history of offending, including serious domestic violence and resisting police, demonstrated enduring moral qualities consistent with upholding and obeying Australian laws.

The Tribunal reasoned that the good character test requires a positive persuasion that an applicant possesses enduring moral qualities and is likely to obey Australian laws. It considered the applicant's convictions, particularly an incident on 26 August 2016 involving violence against his wife and resistance to police, as highly significant. The Tribunal rejected the applicant's attempts to downplay this incident as a misunderstanding, noting his guilty plea and the detailed police accounts. Applying the principles from *Re Chen* and *Irving v Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs*, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant's conduct, especially the domestic violence and resistance to law enforcement, demonstrated a disregard for the law and the safety of others, thus failing to meet the good character requirement.

The Tribunal affirmed the Minister's decision to refuse the application for citizenship by conferral.