EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules No. 209 of 1986
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), so far as is relevant, provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
The Act was recently amended by the Australian Citizenship Amendment Act 1986 (Act No 70 Assented to 24 June 1986) (the amending Act), which was proclaimed on the same day as these regulations came into operation.
The amendments amend regulation 13A to reflect the amendments made to the Act by the amending Act. They also enable the true identity of an applicant seeking to resume citizenship, previously lost under the provisions of section 17 of the Act, to be more fully ascertained.
Details of the regulations are as follows:
• Regulation 1 provides that this amendment shall come into operation on 20 August 1986.
• Regulation 2 made minor amendments, (in the form of changing references to sub-sections in the Principal Act), to regulation 13A of the Australian Citizenship Regulations as a consequence of the amendments made by the amending Act to the Act. Regulation 2 also removed the requirement that the Statement in support of the Declaration of a desire to resume Australian citizenship (after it has been lost by virtue of section 17 of the Act) be furnished to the Minister in duplicate.
• Regulation 3 provided for the repeal of Form 9A of the Australian Citizenship Regulations, and the substitution of a new Form 9A to be completed by applicants for resumption of citizenship under section 23AA of the Act.
Previously Form 9A did not require the provision of sufficient detail for the Department to ascertain, in some cases, the true identity of an applicant, whether they had ever held Australian citizenship and whether they had in fact lost that citizenship under section 17 of the Act. The new Form 9A requires the provision of this information. As a result, it is no longer necessary for Form 9A to be witnessed, as the Department is able to establish a person’s identity independently. The new Form 9A also, therefore, does not contain witnessing requirements.