Ozturk and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr Ozturk, a Turkish citizen. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection had refused Mr Ozturk's application on the grounds that he was not of good character, as required by the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Ozturk satisfied the legislative requirement of being of good character at the time of the Tribunal's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Ozturk met the criterion of being of good character under subsection 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). This involved assessing whether his past conduct, including residing unlawfully in Australia for a period of approximately two years and six months and having previous traffic offences, was outweighed by any mitigating factors or explanations provided. The Tribunal was required to apply community standards in its assessment, rather than personal ones.

The Tribunal considered the Citizenship Policy, which outlines that a person of good character should respect and abide by Australian law and not practise deception. It also notes that an applicant should not have evaded immigration control. The Tribunal weighed Mr Ozturk's unlawful residency against his explanations, which included relying on advice from a migration agent regarding visa applications and waivers. The Tribunal found that given the time Mr Ozturk had lawfully resided in Australia and his contributions as a family member and business operator, he was a person of good character.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision to refuse Mr Ozturk's citizenship application. The matter was remitted to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection with a direction that Mr Ozturk was of good character at the time of the Tribunal's decision.