The number of Australian permanent residents being granted citizenship is continuing to grow, official figures show.
Between 1st July 2018 and 31st May 2019, more than 132,000 citizenship by conferral applications have been approved by Australian Home Affairs, up from 70,000 in the same period last year. This represents an increase of 88 per cent.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said these outcomes are the result of a range of reforms designed to streamline the application process, without compromising national security or program integrity.
These measures include the establishment of task forces within the Department of Home Affairs to focus on complex citizenship cases, system enhancements to automate processes, and a AUS$9 million investment in the recruitment and training of extra staff to ensure applications are dealt with as efficiently as possible.
“As a result of these measures, the number of citizenship-by-conferral applications on-hand has decreased to about 222,800, down from almost 250,000 last year. This number is expected to continue to decline,” Coleman said.
“We live in a country that many people want to be a part of, and the Government has invested heavily to meet this demand while also protecting the security and integrity of the system to ensure only legitimate applications are approved,” the Minister continued.
“Australian citizenship is a privilege and should be granted to those who support our values, respect our laws and want to contribute to an even better Australia.”
Article published 26th June 2019