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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by Mr Molla, who was born in Albania. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, and Multicultural Affairs had refused Mr Molla's application under section 24(6)(a) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) due to pending criminal charges. Mr Molla sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had the power to defer its decision on Mr Molla's citizenship application until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against him. A related issue was whether the refusal of his application constituted a premature finding of guilt. The Tribunal was also required to consider the extent to which it could adopt and elaborate upon its oral reasons in its written decision, referencing the principles established in *Negri v Secretary, Department of Social Services* [2016] FCA 879.

The Tribunal affirmed the Minister's decision, reasoning that section 24(6) of the Act prohibits the approval of citizenship at a time when an applicant faces pending criminal proceedings. It held that this prohibition does not permit a "wait and see" approach, nor can the Tribunal's general power to adjourn be used to circumvent the statutory prohibition by deferring a decision until an indeterminate future event. The Tribunal rejected Mr Molla's submission that the refusal constituted a pre-emptive finding of guilt, clarifying that the existence of the charges, not a determination of guilt, enlivened the prohibition. The Tribunal noted that Mr Molla was not precluded from lodging a new application once his criminal charges were resolved.