b) Dif6iculty in Accessing and Navigating the Citizenship Application Process In addition to the lack of awareness of their child’s entitlement to apply for Australian citizenship, our research and professional experience indicated that parents of stateless children experienced difficulties in navigating the complex and administratively burdensome application process without access to free, specialised legal support.lxi This was complicated by a lack of targeted legal funding for stateless children in Australia. ‘We would never have known about or been able to navigate the citizenship process without a lawyer. Accessing the free legal advice has been essential for us.’ Muhammad and Sumaiya, stateless Rohingya parents to three childrenlxii c) Lack of Data Concerning Australia’s Stateless Population The final key issue identified in our research was more fundamental: the exact number of stateless persons in Australia, including children eligible to apply for citizenship, is unknown, due to a lack of a coordinated or consistent approach to recording such persons discussed above.lxiii Underscoring this gap in comprehensive data regarding Australia’s stateless population is the fact Australia does not have a procedure within its legislative framework to identify and protect stateless persons, such as a ‘statelessness determination procedure’. Targeted Response to Addressing Unmet Legal Need: The Stateless Legal Clinic ‘For 25 years my mother and I struggled to find answers or even understand what statelessness is, and how to fight it. The Clinic gives every mother and child currently in this situation a fighting chance.’lxiv Fadi Chalouhy 33