Katambwe and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Mr. Katambwe for Australian citizenship by conferral, with the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection as the respondent. The dispute centred on Mr. Katambwe's eligibility for citizenship, specifically his ability to satisfy the good character requirement under section 21(2)(h) of the Act. Mr. Katambwe had been granted permanent residency in 2005 and applied for citizenship in 2014. His application was refused by a delegate on the grounds that he had not provided an overseas penal clearance certificate from Tanzania, where he had resided for a significant period, preventing the determination of his good character.

The sole legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Katambwe met the good character requirement stipulated in section 21(2)(h) of the Act. This requirement mandates that the Minister be satisfied of the applicant's good character at the time of the decision. The Tribunal was guided by the principle that "good character" refers to a person's enduring moral qualities, rather than their reputation in the community, as articulated in *Irving v Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs*. A person's criminal record, or lack thereof, is fundamental to this assessment.

The Tribunal noted that the Citizenship Policy requires applicants who have spent 12 months or more outside Australia and more than 90 days in any one country since becoming a permanent resident to provide overseas penal certificates from each such country. Mr. Katambwe had resided in Tanzania for over 90 days and had been requested to provide a certificate from that country. The Tribunal found that a considerable amount of time had passed since the initial request for the certificate, with limited evidence of progress and no indication of an imminent response from Tanzanian authorities. Consequently, the Tribunal deemed it inappropriate to further postpone the decision. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, finding that Mr. Katambwe had not satisfied the good character requirement.