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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by Mr Yari, which had been refused by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The core of the dispute was whether Mr Yari met the "good character" requirement under section 21(2)(h) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The case was heard de novo by a Senior Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, with Ms Boemia appearing for the applicant and Mr Ellison for the respondent.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Yari was of good character at the date of the Tribunal's consideration, applying the merits review principle that it must reach the correct or preferable decision on the evidence before it. This allowed the Tribunal to set aside the delegate's decision even in the absence of error, or affirm it if it was the correct or preferable outcome.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Mr Yari had committed an offence of loitering in 2015 while under the influence of alcohol, this was largely irrelevant to its decision. The Tribunal noted Mr Yari's significant personal history of trauma, including the deaths of family members in Afghanistan and Pakistan, his own health issues such as a stroke and severe headaches, and the ongoing separation from his wife and children. It was accepted that Mr Yari had begun to drink heavily partly due to these difficult circumstances. Considering the lapse of time since the offending and the applicant's overall circumstances, the Tribunal decided to set aside the delegate's decision.

The Tribunal substituted its own decision, finding that Mr Yari was of good character for the purposes of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*.