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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr Elddin, who was challenging the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs' decision to refuse his application. The central dispute revolved around whether Mr Elddin met the "good character" requirement stipulated in paragraph 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The decision was made by A Poljak SM.

The court was required to determine whether Mr Elddin was of good character for the purposes of citizenship conferral, considering his past criminal offending and the relevant law, policy, and material. This involved assessing the weight to be given to various factors, including the seriousness of the offence, the applicant's remorse, the time elapsed since the offending, and any efforts made to comply with court orders.

The Senior Member applied the principles outlined in CPI 15, emphasising that these should not be applied rigidly but considered in light of the specific facts of the case. The Senior Member acknowledged Mr Elddin's expression of remorse, corroborated by other evidence, but noted that he also sought to minimise his involvement and offered excuses for his conduct. The applicant's conviction for attempting to import a significant quantity of contraband, defrauding the Commonwealth of approximately $1.39 million, and his direct involvement in the operation weighed heavily against a finding of good character. Despite the applicant's claims of financial pressure, his admission of knowing his co-offenders were involved in unlawful activities and his failure to make any payments towards the $25,000 reparation ordered by the court were significant factors. The Senior Member was not satisfied that a sufficient period had elapsed since the cessation of his good behaviour order (December 2021) to establish a pattern of good behaviour, nor was there evidence of compliance with the reparation order.

Consequently, the Senior Member was not persuaded to make a positive finding of good character and affirmed the decision under review. Mr Elddin was advised that he could make a fresh application for citizenship in the future.