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

This matter concerned an application to review the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs' decision to revoke the Applicant's Australian citizenship pursuant to section 34(2) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Applicant had previously been convicted of a serious offence. The review was heard by T. Tavoularis SM.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether it was contrary to the public interest for the Applicant to retain his citizenship, whether the Applicant had re-established his good character, and whether the discretion to revoke his citizenship should be exercised.

The Tribunal considered factors relevant to the public interest, including the seriousness of the Applicant's offending, the likelihood that he would not have been granted citizenship in 2015 had his offending been known, and the Applicant's successful re-establishment of good character. The Tribunal found that the weight attributed to the Applicant having re-established his good character outweighed the moderate weight given to the seriousness of his offence and the hypothetical impact on his initial citizenship application. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that it would not be contrary to the public interest for the Applicant to retain his citizenship.

The Tribunal further found that the factors favouring the exercise of the discretion to revoke citizenship did not outweigh the factors against it. Accordingly, the Tribunal set aside the Minister's decision and substituted it with a decision not to exercise the discretion to revoke the Applicant's Australian citizenship.