Mana and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by Mr Mana, which was refused by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The refusal was based on the applicant not being of good character, due to convictions for offences found by the Minister's delegate to be of high seriousness and linked to excessive alcohol consumption. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Mana was of good character for the purposes of his citizenship application.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's history of offending between 2004 and 2008, which demonstrated an inability to comply with the laws and values of the community. While acknowledging Mr Mana's apparent resolve and good behaviour since February 2014, the Tribunal found that the period of over two years was insufficient to establish current good character. The Tribunal also noted that character commendations received by Mr Mana lacked awareness of the full extent of his past behaviour.

The Tribunal concluded that it was not correct or preferable to be positively satisfied that Mr Mana was currently of good character. However, the Tribunal indicated that such a conclusion might be justified in the future if Mr Mana maintained his current resolve and continued to receive informed endorsement from members of the Australian community. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the 2 June 2015 decision to refuse the citizenship application.