Kleeman and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application by Mr. Kleeman to review the decision of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to revoke his Australian citizenship. Mr. Kleeman, who migrated to Australia in 1987 and became a citizen in 2013, had been convicted in 2013 of serious sexual offences against a child, for which he received a total effective sentence of imprisonment of five years and five months. The offences occurred in 1998 and 1999 when the victim was aged seven or eight. Mr. Kleeman was released on parole in March 2017.

The Federal Court was required to determine whether the Minister's decision to revoke Mr. Kleeman's Australian citizenship was correct. Specifically, the court considered whether it was in the public interest of the Australian community for Mr. Kleeman to remain an Australian citizen, and whether the discretion to revoke his citizenship should be exercised. The court noted that a key aspect of the public interest in citizenship is that a citizen be of good character.

The court reasoned that the gravity of Mr. Kleeman's offences, which involved a significant breach of trust against a young child, weighed heavily against him remaining an Australian citizen. While acknowledging evidence of Mr. Kleeman's remorse and assessments suggesting a low risk of reoffending, the court found that the public interest in reducing the risk of such conduct to an absolute minimum was paramount. The court also considered arguments that revoking his citizenship might negatively impact his rehabilitation and family relationships, but concluded that these concerns were based on the premise that revocation would necessarily lead to his removal from Australia, which was a separate matter for the Minister. Ultimately, the court found that the seriousness of the crimes and the strong considerations favouring the conclusion that it would be against the public interest for him to remain an Australian citizen led to the exercise of discretion in favour of revocation.

The court affirmed the reviewable decision of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to revoke Mr. Kleeman's Australian citizenship.