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

This matter concerned an application for citizenship by conferral by Mr. Syed Hussain Kazmi, a citizen of Pakistan, who had his application refused by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The applicant sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was of "good character" for the purposes of section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to consider the applicant's history, including minor traffic offences, instances of driving while his licence was suspended, and whether he had provided false or misleading information in previous applications.

The Tribunal reasoned that a person can fail to establish good character even without criminal convictions, and that dishonesty in migration and citizenship applications is indicative of a lack of good character. The applicant had conceded he did not declare his traffic offences, believing they did not constitute criminal convictions. The Tribunal found that the applicant's repeated instances of driving while suspended demonstrated a disregard for the law, particularly given the public awareness campaigns regarding road safety. While acknowledging a period of non-offending, the Tribunal was not satisfied that this demonstrated a sustained change in behaviour, especially given the proximity to the citizenship review. The Tribunal also noted that dishonesty in applications is a significant factor against good character.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the applicant's application for citizenship by conferral. The Tribunal noted that this decision did not preclude the applicant from making a future application after demonstrating a period of positive contribution to the Australian community.