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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr. Hudswell, which was refused by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Hudswell was likely to reside in Australia or maintain a close and continuing association with Australia, as required by the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The decision was reviewed by Dr. L Bygrave, Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether Mr. Hudswell was likely to reside in Australia in the future. Secondly, whether he was likely to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia, considering his stated intention to reside permanently in Singapore and his recent departure from Australia. The Tribunal also had to consider the prohibition on approving citizenship where an applicant is not present in Australia, unless specific exceptions apply.

The Tribunal reasoned that Mr. Hudswell's explicit declaration that he now resides permanently in Singapore and does not intend to reside in Australia meant he was not likely to reside in Australia in the future. While Mr. Hudswell presented evidence of property ownership and past tax payments to Australia, the Tribunal placed limited weight on these factors, noting his intention not to reside in his Australian properties and that tax liabilities arose from mandatory payments related to employee share schemes. The Tribunal also found that Mr. Hudswell did not satisfy the special residence requirements or meet the circumstances for an exception to the prohibition on approving citizenship when an applicant is not present in Australia, as he had provided no objective evidence of an intention to return within a reasonable period.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that it must not approve Mr. Hudswell becoming an Australian citizen pursuant to subsection 24(5) of the Act.