Fedorov and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by Mr Fedorov, who was employed as a production technician on the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs opposed the application. The case was heard by Senior Member C.j. Furnell SM.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether Mr Fedorov's employment as a production technician on the Prelude FLNG facility satisfied the special residency requirement for citizenship under the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth). Specifically, the Court had to determine if his duties constituted work on a "resources installation" and if he was required to regularly travel outside of Australia due to this work.

The Court reasoned that the Prelude FLNG facility, located approximately 475 kilometres offshore Western Australia, was beyond Australia's coastline by more than 12 nautical miles. Consequently, Mr Fedorov's regular travel to and from this facility meant he was regularly outside of Australia due to his work. The Court found that his role as a production technician, involving construction, commissioning, yard operation, and first-line maintenance on the facility, qualified as work on a resources installation.

Accordingly, the Court found that Mr Fedorov satisfied the criteria under sections 22B(1)(a) and 22B(1)(b)(i) of the Act, as he was engaged in specified work and was required to regularly travel outside Australia because of that work. The decision under review was set aside and remitted to the Respondent for reconsideration, with the direction that these criteria were to be considered satisfied.