With a view to uphold and safeguard Australian values, the Prime Minister announced reforms to the citizenship process on this basis of feedback received from the 2016 Productivity Commission Report: Migrant Intake Into Australia and the National Consultation on Citizenship, conducted by Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and the Hon Philip Ruddock MP in 2015.

The proposed reforms include:

·  Applicants passing a higher-standard English test;

·  Applicants to have lived as a permanent resident of Australia for a minimum of four years (instead of the current one year requirement);

·  The citizenship test being amended to include more meaningful questions that assess an applicant's understanding of and commitment to Australian values;

·  Applicants being required to integrate into the Australian community, e.g. employment, being a member of a community organisation and school enrollment (for eligible children);

·  Applicants who fail three attempts at the citizenship test have a two-year ban on applying for citizenship (currently there is no limit to the number of times an applicant can fail the test); and

·  Applicants who attempt to cheat during the citizenship test receiving an automatic fail.

The above amended requirements will apply to all new Australian citizenship applicants.

At this time of uncertainty, we can seek refuge from the words of the National President of the Migration Institute of Australia, ”to stay calm…this is a re branding.”¹

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