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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr Khan, which was reviewed by Dr L Bygrave, Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The dispute arose because Mr Khan was subject to a Conditional Release Order, which, according to government policy and a specific procedural instruction, prohibited the Minister from approving his application for citizenship at that time.

The Tribunal was required to determine two key legal issues. Firstly, whether the prohibition contained in paragraph 24(6)(g) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth) applied to Mr Khan’s application. Secondly, if the prohibition did apply, whether there were any grounds for the Tribunal to delay making a decision on the matter. The Tribunal considered evidence of Mr Khan's criminal history, including a common assault offence for which he was issued a Conditional Release Order without conviction for a period of one year, commencing on 15 October 2020.

The Member reasoned that while not strictly bound by the Citizenship Policy Statement and Citizenship Procedural Instruction 33, these documents represented government policy and should be considered. Applying paragraph 24(6)(g) of the Act, the Member found that the prohibition did apply to Mr Khan's application due to his existing Conditional Release Order. Regarding the request to adjourn the decision until after the expiry of the order, the Member adopted the reasoning in *Lesi v Administrative Appeals Tribunal*, concluding that the Tribunal's power to adjourn under section 40(1)(c) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) should not be exercised merely to allow a statutory bar to expire. The Member found no basis in the legislation to suggest that the future expiry of an event identified in section 24(6) was a relevant consideration for adjourning proceedings, particularly in light of the Tribunal's objective to provide a fair, just, economical, informal, and quick mechanism of review.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision that it must not approve Mr Khan's application for Australian citizenship at that time. The Tribunal declined to delay making a decision until after the expiry of his Conditional Release Order.