EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Test Review and Other Measures) Act 2009
Proclamation
Subsection 2(1) of the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Test Review and Other Measures) Act 2009 (the Amendment Act) provides, in part, that Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of the provision(s) in Schedule 1 do not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which this Amendment Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that period. The Amendment Act received the Royal Assent on 21 September 2009.
The purpose of the proposed Proclamation is to fix 9 November 2009 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act commences. The other provisions in the Amendment Act commenced when the Amendment Act received the Royal Assent.
The Amendment Act amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to implement the recommendations of the Australian Citizenship Test Review Committee (the Review Committee) agreed to by Government and to strengthen the eligibility requirements for citizenship by conferral for applicants under 18 years of age.
In particular, Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act provides:
- the Minister may specify in a written determination the period in which a person must successfully start and complete the citizenship test;
- that certain applicants may be eligible for citizenship by conferral without a requirement to have sat and successfully completed a citizenship test, if among other things, the Minister is satisfied that the person has a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity, at the time the person made the application, that means the person is not capable of:
- understanding the nature of the application at that time; or
- demonstrating a basic knowledge of the English language at that time; or
- demonstrating an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship at that time;
- that persons who have a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity at the time the person made the application to become an Australian citizen as provided in the dot point above, are exempt from the requirement to make a pledge of commitment;
- that to be eligible for citizenship by conferral, applicants who are under 18 years of age must be permanent residents at both the time of application and the time of decision; and
- that the citizenship testing process should be streamlined and realigned to combine citizenship testing with the citizenship application.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.