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Australian Citizenship Amendment (Strengthening the Citizenship Loss Provisions) Bill 2018

Rights and Freedoms

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

Summary

Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

Introduction

1. The Australian Human Rights Commission makes this submission to the

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) with respect to its

Inquiry into the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Strengthening the Citizenship

Loss Provisions) Bill 2018 (Cth) (the Bill).

2. The Bill would amend s 35A of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) (the Act), to

broaden the circumstances in which a dual citizen or national could have their

Australian citizenship removed.

3. The stated purpose of the Bill is to keep Australians safe from terrorist threats and to

uphold the integrity of Australian citizenship.1

4. The Commission acknowledges the critical importance of protecting Australia’s

national security, and the Australian community from terrorism. Enacting measures

that achieve these goals can protect human rights, including the right to life,2 and

help fulfil Australia’s international law obligations.3

5. However, to comply with international human rights law, any resulting limitations on

human rights must be reasonable, necessary and proportionate. The Commission

considers that the Bill does not satisfy these requirements.

6. Involuntary removal of Australian citizenship is an extremely serious matter, and

imposes significant limitations on human rights for the individual whose Australian

citizenship is removed. It can also have significant consequences for others in the

Australian community who may rely on that individual, such as any dependants of

the individual.

7. By enabling an individual’s Australian citizenship to be removed following much less

serious conduct than is currently provided for, the Bill risks arbitrarily interfering with

the right to enter and remain in one’s own country, protected under article 12(4) of

the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).4

8. If passed, the Bill would also increase the risk that a person, including a child, will be

rendered stateless. Such an outcome could breach Australia’s obligations under the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),5 Convention on the Reduction of

Statelessness (Statelessness Convention
)6 or Convention on the Rights of the Child

(CRC).7

9. The proposed retrospective application of the reforms also risks offending the

prohibition against retrospective penalties in article 15(1) of the ICCPR.

Recommendation 1

The Commission recommends that the Bill not be passed.