declaration.109 Furthermore, other international law standards, as set out in paragraph 52
above, restrict state discretion to deprive nationality, even where the person may not be
made stateless as a result. For example, The UN Special Rapporteur on racism has stated that:
“States' obligations to ensure equality and non-discrimination with regards to the
enjoyment of nationality apply with regard to all citizenship deprivation decisions, not
only in cases where deprivation of citizenship might result in statelessness.”110
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As noted by the PMCS in previous submissions to the Australian Government, existing
citizenship deprivation provisions in the Citizenship Act risk rendering Australian citizens
stateless, and arguably breach Australia’s obligations under international law, including of the
prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality.111
58
A Bill currently before Parliament, if passed, would render Australians further vulnerable to
the risk of statelessness. The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Bill
2019 (the Bill) amends existing citizenship deprivation provisions to provide that, at the
discretion of the Minister for Home Affairs, a person who is a national or citizen of a country
other than Australia ceases to be an Australian citizen in three circumstances:
58.1
58.2
58.3
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renunciation by conduct when a person engages in specified terrorism related
activities;
cessation of citizenship when a person fights for, or is in the service of, a declared
terrorist organisation outside of Australia; or
cessation by conviction for a specified offence with a sentencing period of at
least 3 years.112
The Bill risks further rendering the Citizenship Act inconsistent with Australia's international
legal obligations by weakening already inadequate protections against statelessness, and
further undermining the right to nationality and the institution of citizenship.113
ISSUE 4: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stateless Persons in
Australia
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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a serious impact on people all over the world, particularly
the most vulnerable. This includes stateless people, who face disproportionate risks.114
61
A joint statement by 84 civil society organisations, observes that:
109
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (n 25) art 8(3); Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Submission No 19 to
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Parliament of Australia, Review into the Australian Citizenship Amendment
(Citizenship Cessation) Bill 2019 (16 October 2019) 6 <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3209468/Sub-19-PeterMcMullin-Centre-on-Statelessness.pdf>.
110 UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, ’Amicus Brief
before the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service’ (23 October 2018) [30].
111 Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Submission No 18 to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Parliament
of Australia, Inquiry into the Australian Citizenship Renunciation by Conduct and Cessation Provisions (13 August 2019) 2
<https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/3151978/Sub-18-PeterMcMullinCentre.pdf>.
112
Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Bill 2019 (Cth) cls 36B, 36C, 36D.
113 Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Submission No 19 to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Review into
the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Bill 2019 (n 109) 14.
114 Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Factsheet: The Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Stateless Persons (April 2020)
<https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/3396518/COVID19_factsheet_April_2020-2.pdf >.
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