Sfar and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for Australian citizenship by the Applicant, who had been refused conferral of citizenship by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The refusal was based on the Applicant not meeting the good character requirement under paragraph 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Applicant satisfied the good character requirement, specifically in light of a past event occurring on 15 February 2019. The central legal issue was whether sufficient time had passed since that event to demonstrate that the Applicant possessed enduring moral qualities and was of good character for the purposes of the Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that the passage of time since the event on 15 February 2019 was sufficient to mitigate its impact. Applying the principles of good character, which encompass enduring moral qualities, the Tribunal concluded that the Applicant should be considered of good character for the purposes of the citizenship application. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision to refuse citizenship and remitted the matter to the Respondent for reconsideration, with a direction that the Applicant be taken to be of good character.