The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has today tabled its report on its Review of the Australian Citizenship renunciation by conduct and cessation provisions.
The Committee found that, as the conduct provisions currently operate, the Minister’s role is effectively limited to restoring a person’s citizenship after it has been lost or exempting a person from the effect of those provisions, which is due to the provisions’ automatic nature.
Following an in-depth and considered review the Committee found that the current ‘operation of law’ model, whereby a dual-national’s Australian citizenship is automatically renounced through their actions, should be replaced by a ministerial decision-making model. Such a model would allow the Minister to take into account a broader range of considerations in determining whether to cease an individual’s citizenship. This determination was founded on advice from national security agencies, which advised the Committee that further flexibility was required to utilise citizenship cessation to maximum effect.
The Committee noted that the Government has proposed such a ministerial decision-making model in the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Bill 2019. The Committee is currently finalising its report on the Bill, ensuring that the proposed amendments operate as effectively as possible.
The report can be obtained from the Committee’s website.
