EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules No 252
Australian Citizenship Regulations (Amendment)
(Issued by the authority of the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
Section 53 of the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 (the Act), empowers the Governor-General to make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
As a result of the proposed introduction of computer-generated Australian citizenship certificates, the new regulations amend the Australian Citizenship Regulations to remove unnecessary provisions that are not compatible with the new system and also specify the new forms of certificates. Details of the regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 provides for the regulations to come into operation on 1 October 1984.
Regulation 2 identifies the Australian Citizenship Regulations as the “Principal Regulations”.
Regulation 3 repeals regulations 10 and 10A of the Principal Regulations and substitutes sub-regulations 10(1), 10(2) and 10(3). These sub-regulations specify that a certificate of Australian citizenship shall be in accordance with either Form 6, 7 or 8 depending upon whether the grant of Australian citizenship is made under section 14, sub-section 14(9) or section 32 of the Act.
Regulation 4 omits sub-regulation 12(2) of the Principal Regulations which provides that an authorised officer issuing a certificate of Australian citizenship bearing a facsimile signature of the Minister was required to countersign the certificate.
As the new certificates of Australian citizenship do not require the applicant’s signature, regulation 5 repeals regulation 19 of the Principal Regulations which made special provision for applicants who were unable to sign their name in their own handwriting on the certificate.
Regulation 6 amends the Second Schedule to the Principal Regulations by omitting forms 6, 7 and 8 and substituting new forms 6, 7 and 8.
Regulation 7 is a saving provision providing that existing forms 6, 7 and 8 of the Principal Regulations are valid for use until 31 January 1985.