Thla Ceu and Minister for Immigration Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by Ngun Bik Thla Ceu. The dispute before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had established his identity to the satisfaction of the decision-maker, as required by section 24 of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Tribunal was presided over by Senior Member Dr Damien Cremean.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether it was satisfied of the applicant's identity, and consequently, whether the requirements of section 24(3) of the Act were met. The Tribunal was required to consider the evidence presented, including the testimony of the applicant, his wife, and two other witnesses, in light of the respondent's argument that there was an insufficiency of evidence regarding identity.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the direct evidence presented and the lack of challenge to that evidence during cross-examination. The applicant provided evidence of his name, origin from Myanmar as a refugee, and his date of birth. His wife testified to their marriage and their long acquaintance. Further corroboration was provided by Mr and Mrs Lian Ching, who knew the applicant from their village life in Myanmar and confirmed his identity. The Tribunal found all witnesses to be truthful and noted that the respondent's argument for insufficiency of evidence appeared to rely on a documentary analysis without regard to the oral testimony. The Tribunal concluded that it was fully satisfied of the applicant's identity based on the evidence presented.

Accordingly, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review, finding that the applicant satisfied the requirements of section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* and that there were no remaining reasons to refuse his application for citizenship.