Dawlatzada and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for citizenship by conferral made by an Afghan national. The dispute arose when the delegate responsible for assessing the application was not satisfied that the applicant was of good character, as required by section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The applicant had a history of driving offences and possession of prohibited drugs, which formed the basis of the delegate's concerns.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the good character requirement for citizenship by conferral. This involved determining if the applicant's past offending, despite his apologies and assurances of future good conduct, was sufficient to prevent the Minister from being satisfied of his good character at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, concluding that the applicant did not satisfy the character requirements. The Tribunal considered the applicant's criminal record, which included convictions for contravening directions, urinating in public, driving with a suspended licence, and possessing prohibited drugs on multiple occasions. While the applicant expressed remorse and promised to adhere to community standards and the law, the Tribunal found that these assurances, coupled with his past conduct, did not sufficiently demonstrate that he was a person of good character for the purposes of the Act. The Tribunal ultimately affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the application.