Kaki and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for Australian citizenship by descent made by the Applicant, who was born in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 1981. The Applicant had lodged multiple applications for citizenship by descent, all of which had been refused by the Department. The Applicant sought review of the most recent refusal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Applicant was eligible for Australian citizenship by descent. This involved ascertaining whether, at the time of the Applicant's birth, either of his parents was an Australian citizen. If a parent was an Australian citizen, the Tribunal also needed to consider whether that parent became a PNG citizen on 16 September 1975, and if so, whether their Australian citizenship was consequently lost on that date.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the application. The reasoning focused on the citizenship status of the Applicant's parents at the time of his birth. The Tribunal found that neither of the Applicant's parents was an Australian citizen at the time of his birth, which meant the requirements for citizenship by descent under section 16 of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) were not satisfied. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the approval of the application.