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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr Jafari, who sought to rely on an exception to the usual requirements due to a claimed permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity. The dispute before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was whether Mr Jafari met the criteria under section 21(3)(d) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth) at the time he made his application.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Jafari had a permanent or enduring mental incapacity at the time of his application on 8 July 2015, and if so, whether that incapacity rendered him incapable of demonstrating a basic knowledge of the English language or an adequate knowledge of Australia and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, as required by sections 21(3)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the Act.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Citizenship Officer, finding that there was insufficient evidence to satisfy the requirements of section 21(3)(d). While medical reports indicated Mr Jafari suffered from major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and one report from January 2019 stated his incapacity was permanent and enduring at the time of application, the Tribunal found this report lacked detail regarding the doctor's knowledge of the application date and the specific consequences of the condition at that time. Other medical evidence did not provide sufficient information about the nature and impact of his mental incapacity as at 8 July 2015. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Jafari had not demonstrated that his alleged incapacity met the specific criteria outlined in the Act at the relevant time.