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

This matter concerned an application for citizenship by conferral made by Ms Jiayu Wu. Ms Wu had been approved for the grant of citizenship, but her approval was subsequently cancelled by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs because she failed to make the pledge of commitment within the 12-month period stipulated by the relevant legislation. Ms Wu sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Ms Wu had failed to make the pledge of commitment within the prescribed timeframe. If she had, the Tribunal then had to consider whether the reason for her failure was in accordance with section 9 of the Citizenship Regulations, and if not, whether it should exercise its discretion to cancel the approval of her citizenship.

The Tribunal found that Ms Wu had been notified on numerous occasions of the time-limited pledge requirement and understood its importance. It also found that Ms Wu had not acted promptly in taking up rescheduled ceremony arrangements, despite her specific requests being accommodated. The Tribunal noted that Ms Wu had not provided compelling reasons for her failure to attend scheduled ceremonies and that the prejudice she would suffer from the cancellation of her citizenship approval would be limited. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it was fair and reasonable to exercise its discretion to cancel the approval of Ms Wu's Australian citizenship. The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the respondent.