Zaburoni and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Zaburoni for an extension of time to lodge an application for review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The Minister opposed the extension. Mr Zaburoni, a citizen of Zimbabwe, had been granted permanent residence in Australia in 2007 and Australian citizenship in 2010. In 2010, he was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent to transmit a serious disease, and alternatively, grievous bodily harm. He was convicted of the former and sentenced to nine and a half years imprisonment. Following an appeal, the High Court found him guilty of unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm and remitted the matter for re-sentencing. On 3 June 2016, he was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant Mr Zaburoni an extension of time to lodge his application for review. In considering this, the Tribunal applied the principles established in *Hunter Valley Developments Pty Ltd v Cohen*, which include assessing the applicant's explanation for the delay, whether the applicant has "rested on his rights," any prejudice to the respondent, the merits of the substantial application, and considerations of fairness. The overriding consideration was whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant the extension.

The Tribunal noted that while the High Court found Mr Zaburoni guilty of a lesser charge, the offence remained serious. The Tribunal considered that it was highly unlikely that a person serving a five-year suspended sentence would be found to be of "good character" as required by the Citizenship Policy, thus concluding that the substantive matter had minimal merit. This lack of merit weighed heavily against granting the extension.

Ultimately, the Tribunal was not satisfied that it was reasonable in the circumstances to grant the extension of time. Accordingly, the application for an extension of time was refused. The Tribunal noted that this decision did not preclude Mr Zaburoni from making a further application for citizenship in the future.