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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for Australian citizenship by descent made by Norris (Junior). The dispute concerned whether the applicant's mother was an Australian citizen at the time of the applicant's birth, which in turn would determine the applicant's eligibility for citizenship by descent. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs was the respondent.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant's mother was an Australian citizen at the time of the applicant's birth. This involved assessing whether she was an Australian citizen by birth, given she was born in Papua prior to Papua New Guinea Independence Day. Further, the Tribunal had to consider whether the applicant's mother had a right to permanent residence in Australia, and if so, whether that right had been renounced.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's mother was an Australian citizen at the time of the applicant's birth. This conclusion was based on the operation of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth) and the circumstances of her birth in Papua prior to its independence. The Tribunal determined that the applicant's mother had acquired Australian citizenship by birth and had not renounced her right to permanent residence in Australia. Consequently, the matter was remitted for reconsideration in accordance with the finding that the applicant has a parent who was an Australian citizen at the time of her birth.