Federal Court (Full Court). Is the power in s 34(2)(b)(ii) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) triggered only where a single conviction leads to a single sentence of imprisonment for at least 12 months, be it aggregate or prior to cumulation?
The Full Court of the Federal Court (FCAFC) said:
24 This appeal concerns the construction of s 34(2)(b)(ii), when the definition of “serious offence” is incorporated from s 34(5). The definition in s 34(5), in turn, incorporates the definition of “serious prison sentence” from s 3 of the Citizenship Act. If the phrase in s 34(2) were read by incorporating the two defined terms, it would be rendered as follows:
34 Revocation by Minister—offences or fraud
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(2) The Minister may, by writing, revoke a person’s Australian citizenship if:
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(b) any of the following apply:
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(ii) the person has, at any time after making the application to become an Australian citizen, been convicted of [an offence against an Australian law for which the person has been sentenced to a [sentence of imprisonment for a period of at least 12 months]]; …
The FCAFC answered that question as follows: