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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by Mr Benjamin Mahdawi. The delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs refused the application on the grounds that the delegate was not satisfied of Mr Mahdawi's identity. Mr Mahdawi sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Minister's delegate was satisfied of Mr Mahdawi's identity, as mandated by section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). This section provides that the Minister must not approve an application for citizenship unless satisfied of the applicant's identity. The Tribunal considered the evidence presented regarding Mr Mahdawi's birth in Iran as an unregistered refugee, his subsequent arrival in Australia as an undocumented minor, and the process by which he obtained an Afghan *tazkira*.

The Tribunal applied the principles established in *Briginshaw v Briginshaw* and subsequent High Court decisions, which require a tribunal to feel an actual persuasion of the occurrence or existence of a fact before it can be found. This "reasonable satisfaction" is not a mechanical comparison of probabilities but a state of mind influenced by the seriousness of the allegation and the consequences of the finding. The Tribunal noted that the conferral of citizenship carries significant rights and responsibilities, thus necessitating a high degree of certainty regarding identity. Despite the challenges in obtaining documentary evidence from Iran and the change in the applicant's surname, the Tribunal found that the evidence presented, including the *tazkira* obtained through his father and supported by witnesses, was sufficient to satisfy the identity requirement.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision to refuse Mr Mahdawi's citizenship application and remitted the matter to the Respondent with a direction that Mr Mahdawi's identity was satisfied for the purposes of section 24(3) of the Act.