Ibrahim and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by descent. The applicant, Master A, was born outside of Australia. His father, Mr Ibrahim, who is an Australian citizen, sought to establish that he was an Australian parent at the time of Master A's birth. The Minister for Home Affairs was the respondent. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) heard the matter.

The primary legal issue before the AAT was to determine the meaning of "parent" in the context of citizenship by descent, specifically whether Mr Ibrahim's role as an informal adoptive father, rather than a biological father, qualified him as an Australian parent for the purposes of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth). The Tribunal also had to consider whether Mr Ibrahim's conduct before, at the time of, and after Master A's birth demonstrated that he genuinely accepted the child as his son.

The AAT reasoned that the ordinary meaning of "parent" is not limited to a biological parent. The Tribunal found that Mr Ibrahim had demonstrated a genuine acceptance of Master A as his son from the time he assisted Ms Mohamed during her pregnancy. He had provided financial and emotional support, organised accommodation for Ms Mohamed, named the child, and continued to provide for Master A's needs, including education. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Ibrahim had fulfilled his responsibilities as a father and was therefore an Australian parent at the time of Master A's birth.

Consequently, the AAT set aside the delegate's decision to refuse the application for Australian citizenship. The matter was remitted to the Minister for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant was eligible to become an Australian citizen, as Mr Ibrahim was an Australian citizen at the time of the applicant's birth.