Shafari and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by Mr. Shafai, an Afghan citizen. The delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs refused the application, being unsatisfied as to Mr. Shafai's identity, primarily due to concerns about the authenticity of a provided Taskera (an Afghan official identity document) and discrepancies in his stated date of birth. Mr. Shafai sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether it was satisfied of Mr. Shafai's identity for the purposes of section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth). This involved assessing the veracity of the documents provided by Mr. Shafai, particularly the Taskera, and considering the evidence relating to his date of birth, which had historically changed. The Tribunal's review was limited to the question before the original decision-maker.

The Tribunal found that while the Taskera provided by Mr. Shafai was not an authentic document, as confirmed by Afghan authorities, this did not preclude a grant of citizenship. The Tribunal accepted Mr. Shafai's evidence that his original Taskera, obtained by his father in infancy, was lost in a fire and that he had not personally obtained a Taskera as an adult in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr. Shafai's corrected date of birth of 24 March 1961, based on his father's recollection of an inscription in the family's Holy Koran, was plausible and convincing. Taking into account Mr. Shafai's overall history, conduct in Australia, corroborative evidence, and the credibility of his testimony, the Tribunal concluded that he satisfied the identity requirements under section 24(3) of the Act.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision and remitted the matter to the Respondent with a direction that Mr. Shafai satisfies section 24(3) of the Act, with the Respondent to then consider the remaining requirements for citizenship.