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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by the Applicant, which was refused by the Department of Home Affairs on the basis that he failed to satisfy section 24(6)(a) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). This refusal was due to pending proceedings in the Magistrates Court for offences of stealing and gaining benefit by fraud. The Applicant sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether any prohibitions under section 24(6) of the Act applied to the Applicant. However, following the Applicant's conviction for stealing and his subsequent appeal against that conviction, the Respondent requested that the Tribunal consider dismissing the application under section 42B of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth). The Tribunal agreed to consider this alternative basis for dismissal.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 24(6)(a) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) mandates that the Minister must not approve a person becoming an Australian citizen while proceedings for an offence against an Australian law, including appeals, are pending. As the Applicant had appealed his conviction for stealing, proceedings were still pending. The Tribunal noted that the time taken to process citizenship applications was not considered lengthy or unreasonable, and the Applicant was free to reapply at any time. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that the application should be dismissed.