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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by the Applicant, a citizen of Afghanistan. The delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs refused the application on the basis that the delegate was not satisfied the Applicant was of good character, as required by section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Applicant sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was satisfied that the Applicant was of good character for the purposes of section 21(2)(h) of the Act. This question arose in circumstances where the Applicant had, over a period of approximately 11 years, failed to disclose the existence of his father and a sibling residing in Australia, and had initially claimed his father was deceased when departmental records and his own financial transactions suggested otherwise.

The Tribunal considered the Applicant's submissions that his dishonesty was due to youth, immaturity, fear of his claims being questioned, and that truthfulness was not an absolute requirement for citizenship. The Tribunal noted that while the Applicant had provided incorrect information and failed to disclose relevant family members, these instances did not occur in every dealing with the Department. However, the Tribunal ultimately found that it could not be satisfied that the Applicant was of good character. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the application for citizenship.