The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has commenced a review of the operation, effectiveness and implications of sections 33AA, 35, 35AA and 35A of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and any other provision of that Act.

The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 provides that any dual national citizen of Australia can automatically lose their Australian citizenship if they engage in terrorism-related conduct which repudiates their allegiance to Australia. Additionally the Minister may determine that where a person is a dual national, their Australian citizenship has ceased if they have been convicted of a number of offences including terrorism offences.

Section 29 of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 provides for the review and requires the Committee to complete its review by 1 December 2019. Terms of reference are available here.    

Concurrent review of the Act

In February 2019, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor commenced a similar review of the operation, effectiveness and implications of the terrorism-related citizenship loss provisions in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.

The INSLM will report by 15 August 2019 and their findings will inform the Committee’s review. 

Making a submission

The Committee invites written submissions addressing any or all of the areas of focus for the Committee’s inquiry. Submissions should clearly identify which areas of focus are being addressed. Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee. Documents do not attract parliamentary privilege until they are accepted by the Committee.

Submissions are requested by 1 July 2019. Further information about making a submission to a parliamentary committee inquiry is available here.