By Liana Allan MARN 0104178
We are back to the old citizenship rules.
The bill which failed to be accepted, had tried to impose a university-level English language requirement plus four years of living in Australia as a permanent resident prior to an application being made for Australian citizenship.
That proposed package is now dead.
As I understand it, there are over 80,000 applications in the pipeline and these will now continue to be processed under the old rules.
More information on this can be found here.
Anyone who needs further information or advice on Australian Citizenship can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
My advice to people wanting Australian citizenship is to apply now if you qualify now, before the government makes amendments to the bill, and starts re-negotiations in the Senate. Delaying a citizenship application may result in a new bill with higher standards and new rules, when a new bill is put before the Senate again, and if it is successful.