Moretta and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for review before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, heard by Member Dr L Bygrave. The applicant, Ms Moretta, sought an extension of time to lodge her application for review of the Minister's decision to refuse her application for Australian citizenship by conferral. The Minister's delegate had refused the application on the basis that Ms Moretta did not satisfy paragraph 21(2)(g) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth), which requires an applicant to be likely to reside in Australia or maintain a close and continuing association with Australia if their application were approved.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant Ms Moretta an extension of time to lodge her application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider the principles established in *Hunter Valley Developments Pty Ltd v Cohen* (1984) 3 FCR 344, which include assessing the explanation for the delay, any prejudice to the respondent, the merits of the substantive application, and considerations of fairness. The Tribunal also had to determine whether Ms Moretta met the substantive eligibility requirement under section 21(2)(g) of the Act, which was the basis for the original refusal.

The Tribunal considered Ms Moretta's explanation for the delay, noting that she claimed not to have received the reviewable decision until 20 July 2017, despite the decision being dated 12 July 2017. She subsequently lodged her application for review on 16 August 2017. The Tribunal also took into account that Ms Moretta had returned to Australia in September 2016 and had resided there since, and that both of her children are Australian citizens. While acknowledging limited evidence regarding her ongoing association with Australia, the Tribunal found that granting the extension of time was reasonable in the circumstances.

The Tribunal granted Ms Moretta's application for an extension of time to lodge her application for review.