Fesaitu and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned two applications for Australian citizenship by adult applicants who had been legally adopted by an Australian citizen in Fiji. The delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs refused these applications, leading the applicants to seek review of those decisions in the Tribunal. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the applicants met the eligibility criteria for citizenship as set out in section 19C(2) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants satisfied the cumulative eligibility requirements of section 19C(2) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*. Specifically, the court needed to ascertain if the adoption in Fiji qualified as an adoption in a "Convention country" or a "prescribed overseas jurisdiction," whether an adoption compliance certificate was in force, and if the adoption was recognised and effective under relevant Commonwealth, State, and Territory laws. Further considerations included the termination of the legal relationship with the applicants' previous parents, and for adult applicants, the requirement of good character.

The Tribunal found that the applicants did not meet the eligibility criteria under section 19C(2). The reasoning focused on the absence of an adoption compliance certificate, which was a mandatory requirement under section 19C(2)(b). Furthermore, the Tribunal concluded that Fiji was neither a "Convention country" nor a "prescribed overseas jurisdiction" for the purposes of the Act, and therefore the adoption did not satisfy section 19C(2)(a). Despite the refusal of the citizenship applications, the Tribunal noted the family's distress at the prospect of separation and recommended that the Minister assist the applicants in making appropriate visa applications to allow them to remain in Australia together.