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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by a French citizen, Mr Mabiala, who sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs to refuse his application. The refusal was based on the delegate's dissatisfaction that Mr Mabiala was of good character, as required by section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) was tasked with reviewing this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Mabiala had demonstrated he was of good character, notwithstanding a history of criminal convictions and other concerning conduct. This required the Tribunal to consider the nature and seriousness of his past offences, including stealing, breach of bail, driving without a licence, providing false identification, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, as well as instances of providing false vaccination records and dishonesty in relation to his immigration applications. The Tribunal also had to assess whether Mr Mabiala had provided satisfactory evidence of rehabilitation or a cessation of such behaviour.

The Tribunal reasoned that while some offences occurred some years prior, and Mr Mabiala had ceased driving without a licence, his overall conduct did not satisfy the good character requirement. The Tribunal found his explanation for the stealing offence disingenuous and noted his repeated dishonesty, including providing false details to police while disqualified from driving and providing false vaccination records. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered the assault conviction, which involved multiple punches to the victim's head and face, to be a serious matter. Given the pattern of dishonesty and the nature of the violent offence, the Tribunal concluded that it could not be satisfied that Mr Mabiala was of good character.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse Mr Mabiala's application for citizenship by conferral.