Willats and Minister for Foreign Affairs

This matter concerned an application for an Australian passport for a child, Amelia, made by her mother, Hannah. Hannah applied for the passport to take Amelia on overseas holidays, but indicated that Amelia's father had not provided his consent and that she objected to him being contacted due to prior domestic violence. The Australian Passports Office, following its policy, did not contact the father. The application was refused on the basis that both parents had not consented, and the subsequent internal review affirmed this refusal. The case came before Member McLean-Williams of the Tribunal, exercising review jurisdiction under section 50 of the *Australian Passports Act 2005* (Cth).

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the refusal to issue Amelia's passport was justified under the *Australian Passports Act 2005*. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider if section 11(1)(a) of the Act, requiring the consent of both parents or a court order, had been satisfied. It also had to determine if "special circumstances" existed under section 11(2)(a) of the Act that would permit the issuance of a passport despite the lack of consent, and whether the Delegate had erred in finding that such circumstances could not be established without the ability to contact the non-lodging parent.

The Tribunal found that the Delegate had erred in affirming the refusal. While acknowledging that section 11(1)(a) of the Act was not met due to the lack of the father's consent, the Tribunal considered that the Delegate had not adequately assessed the "special circumstances" exception under section 11(2)(a). The Tribunal noted that Hannah had provided a detailed account of the father's absence from Amelia's life since shortly after her birth, and that the Department's policy of not contacting the father due to the family violence claim had prevented these circumstances from being fully tested. The Tribunal reasoned that the absence of contact for a substantial period, coupled with the mother's sole parental responsibility and the documented concerns about family violence, could constitute special circumstances.

The Tribunal set aside the decision of the Internal Review Delegate and substituted a new decision to issue the Australian passport to Amelia.