Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017

The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bill in the House of Representatives. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill for a third time. This means that the bill will now be sent to the Senate, where our senators will decide whether they agree with the House that the bill should become law.

What does this bill do?

The bill takes a more restrictive approach to granting Australian citizenship to new applicants. According to the bills digest, the bill:

contains a number of new amendments regarding citizenship policy. For applicants seeking Australian citizenship by conferral, the Bill proposes:

• an increase in the English language requirement from basic to competent
• the extension of the general residency requirement to four years of permanent residence
• the requirement to demonstrate integration into the Australian community
• the replacement of the pledge of commitment with a proposed pledge of allegiance and
• changes to the eligibility provisions of the citizenship test.

Other changes made by the bill are discussed at length in the bills digest.