Sadiq and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Saddam Sadiq to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse his application for Australian citizenship by conferral. The refusal was based on the applicant not satisfying the good character requirement under section 21(2)(h) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth). The applicant had a prior conviction for indecent assault in 2011 and had failed to disclose this conviction on his citizenship application lodged in 2012.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was of good character at the time of the Minister's decision on his application, as required by section 21(2)(h) of the Act. This involved considering the applicant's past criminal conduct, his subsequent statements and declarations regarding that conduct, and the meaning of "good character" in the context of migration law. The Tribunal was required to determine the standard of proof for establishing good character and to apply relevant case law defining this concept.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, finding that the applicant was not of good character at the time of the delegate's decision or at the time of the Tribunal's decision. The Tribunal noted the applicant's conviction for indecent assault, a serious offence, and his subsequent false statements regarding this conviction on his application and in a statutory declaration. While the applicant later made a further statutory declaration retracting some of his earlier statements, the Tribunal considered that the false declarations made prior to the delegate's decision reflected adversely on his character. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not accepted responsibility for his actions, which was a significant factor in assessing his good character.