Obeya and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered applications by Obeya concerning a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs not to give notice that the applicant was an Australian citizen, and a separate decision by NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to refuse to renew or issue a driving licence.

The AAT was required to determine whether it possessed jurisdiction to review both the section 37 decision made under the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* and the decision made by RMS. The applicant contended that the section 37 decision was a freedom of information request, which would imply a different jurisdictional basis.

The Tribunal found that it lacked jurisdiction to review the section 37 decision. It reasoned that the AAT's review powers are limited to those conferred by statute, specifically section 25 of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth). The Tribunal determined that the section 37 decision was made under subsection 37(2) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*, which relates to the Minister being satisfied of a person's identity, and was not a freedom of information request. Crucially, section 52 of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* lists the decisions reviewable by the AAT, and a section 37 decision was not included. Furthermore, the RMS decision was identified as a state matter governed by state legislation, over which the AAT had no jurisdiction. Consequently, both applications were dismissed.