Yaghoubian and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for Australian citizenship by Mr. Yaghoubian, which had been refused by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection on the grounds that Mr. Yaghoubian did not satisfy the good character requirement. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Yaghoubian's criminal record, which included convictions for domestic violence and traffic offences, rendered him not of good character for the purposes of the relevant citizenship legislation.

The AAT was required to determine whether, in light of his past offending, Mr. Yaghoubian could be considered a person of good character as mandated by section 21(8)(d) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). This involved assessing the nature and seriousness of his offences, the time elapsed since they occurred, and any mitigating factors presented by Mr. Yaghoubian.

Senior Member Younes found that Mr. Yaghoubian was not of good character. The Tribunal noted that while some offences were historical, the domestic violence convictions were particularly serious and indicated a pattern of behaviour that weighed against a finding of good character. The Tribunal considered the mitigating factors presented but concluded that they did not sufficiently outweigh the gravity of the offences. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the Minister's decision to refuse the application for Australian citizenship.