The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Repudiation) Bill 2023 was introduced into Parliament on 29 November 2023, and was passed by both Houses on 6 December 2023. That bill, now in force as the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Repudiation Act 2023, has repealed and replaced the operative provisions of Subdivision C of Division 3 of Part 2 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007
On 4 December 2023 the Senate resolved:
That, following the passage of the bill, the following matter be referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for inquiry and report by 14 March 2024: The operation, effectiveness and implications of the amendments made by the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Repudiation) Bill 2023.
The Bill provides that the Minister may make an application to a court to make a citizenship cessation order in certain circumstances as part of sentencing on conviction of a person for certain serious offences. On receiving such an application, the court may, as part of sentencing the person to a period or periods of imprisonment, order as part of the person’s sentence that they cease to be an Australian citizen.
Further, on 7 December 2023 the Senate resolved:
That the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, in undertaking any inquiry into the amendments made by the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Repudiation) Bill 2023, also consider any amendments to the bill which have been circulated in the Senate.
Therefore, amendments proposed in the Senate which did not pass and do not form part of the final Act will also be considered by the Committee. These are:
A combined PDF of these amendments can be found here
The Committee requests submissions to the review by Thursday, 8 February 2024.
Making a submission
Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee. Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found atwww.aph.gov.au/makesubmission.
Any submissions made to the Committee’s Review of Subdivision C of Division 3 of Part 2 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 will be taken as a submission to this inquiry.