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

This matter concerned an application for review by Mr Dawori of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs' decision to refuse him Australian citizenship by conferral. Mr Dawori lodged his application for review significantly late, and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to consider whether to extend the time for lodging that application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to grant an extension of time under section 29(7) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) for Mr Dawori to lodge his application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider various factors, including whether Mr Dawori had "rested on his rights" and whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant an extension. A secondary issue arose regarding the technical validity of the original decision to refuse citizenship, specifically whether the decision record was properly signed and whether the delegate who made the decision was duly authorised.

The Tribunal noted that Mr Dawori's citizenship was refused under section 24(6) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) due to pending criminal charges. While the original decision record was technically defective for being unsigned, the Tribunal was later satisfied that the officer who made the decision was a duly appointed delegate. Crucially, the Tribunal found that Mr Dawori had not taken sufficient steps to inform himself of his rights and obligations, particularly concerning the pending charges and the time limits for review. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Dawori had "rested on his rights" and that it was not reasonable in all the circumstances to extend the time for lodging his application for review.

Accordingly, the Tribunal refused to extend the time for Mr Dawori to lodge his application for review of the decision to refuse him Australian citizenship by conferral. The Tribunal noted that if the pending charges have since been resolved, Mr Dawori is free to lodge a fresh application for citizenship.