EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Act 2007
Proclamation
Item 2 of the table in subsection 2(1) of the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Act 2007 (the Citizenship Testing Act) provides that Schedule 1 to the Citizenship Testing Act commences on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 1 October 2007 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Citizenship Testing Act commences.
The Citizenship Testing Act amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (the Act) to provide for the testing of prospective applicants for Australian citizenship by conferral under the general eligibility provisions. Schedule 1 contains the operative provisions of the Citizenship Testing Act. The remaining provisions commenced on the day on which the Citizenship Testing Act received the Royal Assent.
The Citizenship Testing Act requires applicants for Australian citizenship by conferral under the general eligibility provisions (subsection 21(2) of the Citizenship Testing Act) to have successfully completed a citizenship test, before making an application, in order to be eligible to become Australian citizens. The Citizenship Testing Act provides that successful completion of a test will enable the Minister to be satisfied that applicants understand the nature of their application for citizenship, possess a basic knowledge of the English language, and have an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship.
The Citizenship Testing Act provides that persons may be required to satisfy eligibility criteria to be able to sit a citizenship test. These criteria may include requirements that a person is a permanent resident and satisfies the Minister of the person’s identity. The Citizenship Testing Act also provides that the fee prescribed for an application to become an Australian citizen under section 21 of the Act, in relation to persons who have sat a test or tests, may include a component that relates to the test or tests sat by the applicant.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.