S and Minister for Foreign Affairs (General)

This matter concerned an application for an Australian passport by a child, S, who was an Australian citizen residing in Vietnam. The application was refused by the Minister for Foreign Affairs because one parent, the father, had not consented to the issuance of the passport. The child's mother proposed that if a passport were issued, S would live with a family friend in Australia and attend school there. The court was asked to review the Minister's decision to refuse the passport.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Minister was required to refuse the passport under section 11(1) of the *Australian Passports Act 2005* (Cth) due to the lack of consent from both parents, and if so, whether any of the exceptions provided in section 11(2) of the Act were enlivened. Specifically, the court considered whether the child's welfare would be adversely affected if she were unable to travel internationally, or if special circumstances existed that would justify the Minister exercising discretion to issue the passport despite the lack of full parental consent. The court also considered the implications of Vietnamese court orders and Australia's obligations under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The court found that the evidence, particularly from Dr. Kasinathan, satisfied it that the child's psychological welfare would be adversely affected if she were unable to travel internationally. This engaged the discretion provided under section 11(2)(b) of the *Australian Passports Act 2005*. The court accepted the evidence of S and her mother regarding the limited and distressing contact S had with her father. Consequently, the court set aside the Minister's decision and substituted it with a decision that the passport should be issued.