Khadka and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by the applicant, a citizen of Bhutan, who had arrived in Australia in 2010. The applicant had attempted the standard citizenship test on four separate occasions between 2016 and 2017 but failed to achieve the required pass mark of 75% or more. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection refused the application on the basis that the applicant had not met the general eligibility criteria, specifically the requirement to successfully complete the citizenship test. The applicant sought review of this decision.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of section 21(2)(a) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth), which mandates the successful completion of a citizenship test as a prerequisite for satisfying certain other eligibility criteria under section 21(2)(d), (e), and (f). The central legal issue was whether the applicant's repeated failures to pass the test meant she did not meet the statutory requirements for conferral of citizenship.

The Tribunal acknowledged the applicant's explanations for her failures, including relationship difficulties and a lack of formal education, as well as evidence from her son regarding her struggles. However, the Tribunal found that despite these circumstances, the objective fact was that the applicant had not successfully completed the citizenship test. Applying the provisions of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth) and the relevant policy, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy section 21(2) of the Act because she had not met the mandatory requirement of passing the citizenship test.