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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr. Hussaini, who was born in Afghanistan and arrived in Australia in 2011. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs refused the application on the grounds that Mr. Hussaini was not of good character, citing convictions in 2015 for Recklessly cause injury and Contravene family violence intervention order. Mr. Hussaini sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Hussaini satisfied the requirement under s 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) that he be of good character at the time of the Minister's decision. This required the Tribunal to assess whether, despite his past offending, Mr. Hussaini had demonstrated a sufficient pattern of good conduct since the convictions to be considered of good character for the purposes of citizenship.

The Tribunal considered the contextual circumstances of Mr. Hussaini's offending, including his underprivileged background, financial pressures, and difficulties establishing himself in Australia. It found that while his conduct was serious and unacceptable, it was impulsive and short-lived, with no evidence of similar offending before or since. The Tribunal was persuaded by Mr. Hussaini's evidence regarding his rehabilitation, his improved understanding of Australian law and culture, and his reconciliation with his wife and her family. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that over six years had passed since the offending without reoffending, that Mr. Hussaini was now mature and settled, and that his Australian citizen children and parents-in-law provided a protective factor. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr. Hussaini was now of good character.

The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and remitted the application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a recommendation that the application be granted.