Federal Court (Full Court). If a person is born overseas to non-Australian biological parents and is later adopted by individuals who were Australian citizens at the time of that person's birth, is that person deemed to have been born to Australian parents for the purposes of s 16(2) of the Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth)? Does that Act provide a pathway for all children adopted under Australian law or does it only provide a pathway for children adopted before 22 November 1984?
The questions to the Full Court of the Federal Court (FCAFC) were as follows:
Question 1: If the Minister for Home Affairs makes a citizenship decision which is overturned by the AAT, can the Minister for Immigration bring judicial review proceedings?
Question 2: If a person is born overseas to non-Australian biological parents and is later adopted by individuals who were Australian citizens at the time of that person's birth, is that person deemed to have been born to Australian parents for the purposes of s 16(2) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth)?
Question 3: In answering Question 2, is it relevant that, under Albanian law, the effect of the adoption of the appellant is that the appellant is treated in law as if he were born to the adopted parent?
Question 4: If the answer to Question 2, does it necessarily follow that Parliament did not provide a pathway to Australian citizenship for all children adopted overseas and that "the only children born and adopted overseas for whom a pathway to citizenship is provided are those covered, since 1998 (the date Australia acceded to the Hague Convention), by Subdiv AA of Div 2 of Part 2 of the [Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth)]?
Question 5: Does the Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) provide a pathway for all children adopted under Australian law or does it only provide a pathway for children adopted before 22 November 1984?
The FCAFC answered those questions as follows: