Key recommendations 1. Australia should adopt a Statelessness Determination Procedure (SDP) to transparently, fairly and correctly identify stateless people 5. Citizenship procedures for stateless people in Australia should be simplified and streamlined including mandated timeframes for processing Australia should adopt a procedure within its legislative framework to identify and protect stateless people that is consistent with international best practice. A Statelessness Determination Procedure (SDP) would provide a formal mechanism for better identifying who is stateless, thereby ensuring stateless people in Australia have access to adequate protection, support services, documentation and rights and entitlements. The process for applying for Australian citizenship for stateless people in Australia—regardless of whether they were born onshore or offshore—is overly complex and administratively burdensome. Without mandated timeframes for processing, many are waiting years for a determination of their application. Measures should be adopted to make the process more accessible to stateless people, application fees for stateless people should be abolished (or at a minimum, means-tested) and transparent, reasonable timeframes for processing applications should be introduced. Culturally appropriate training and resources should be developed to support stateless people throughout the application process (including materials to support stateless people to prepare for the citizenship test) and government funding provided for free legal support to assist stateless people throughout the process. The SDP should be fair, effective and accessible to all people in Australia, regardless of their legal status or the mode or date of their arrival in Australia and should include funded access to interpreting services and legal support. It should comply with international standards of due process and follow the procedural safeguards outlined in UNHCR’s Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons. An SDP should be adopted in conjunction with a permanent pathway to naturalisation (Recommendation 2). 2. Australia should adopt a permanent visa category or naturalisation pathway for stateless people that includes a clear and accessible pathway to citizenship within a reasonable timeframe A specific visa category or naturalisation pathway should be established for all recognised stateless people, irrespective of their mode of arrival to Australia, providing for permanent protection with a pathway to citizenship within a reasonable and mandated timeframe. 3. Australia must adopt measures to address statelessness that are informed by impacted communities, experts in the field and members of professional services working closely with impacted communities Measures introduced to address and respond to statelessness identified in this Report must be informed by stateless people in Australia in recognition of their status as experts. Measures should further be informed by professional experts in the field including members of professional services (such as those interviewed as part of this research) working closely with impacted communities. 4. The Australian government should refine data collection to more accurately identify stateless people in Australia, particularly those in immigration detention and immigration categories Evidence demonstrates inconsistent and unreliable collection of data on stateless people within Australia’s immigration system, including in immigration detention. The Australian government should refine data collection, informed by best practice and informed understandings of statelessness to identify stateless people in Australia. This process will be supported by the introduction of an SDP. 6. The mandatory immigration detention of stateless people (including children) should be abolished, and mandated maximum timeframes introduced Evidence indicates that despite relatively recent developments in the law rendering indefinite detention in Australia unlawful, stateless people continue to experience disproportionate and overly lengthy periods of detention. The Australian government should end the mandatory detention of stateless people and utilise alternatives to detention that are humane and comply with international law to protect against arbitrary detention in all circumstances. Legislated maximum timeframes and an independent review mechanism for immigration detention (including alternatives to detention) should be introduced, in compliance with international law. 7. The removal of stateless people within Australian territory to Regional Processing Centres, including the Republic of Nauru, should be discontinued Stateless people should be assessed under an SDP (Recommendation 1) and provided with a permanent visa and pathway to naturalisation in Australia regardless of their mode of arrival in Australia (Recommendation 2). They should not be removed to Regional Processing Countries including the Republic of Nauru, noting that Nauru is not signatory to either of the Statelessness Conventions and that the practice of removing people to Regional Processing Countries is unlawful under international law. 8. The Australian government should protect everybody’s right to a nationality The Australian government must ensure that national laws comply with international obligations prohibiting the arbitrary deprivation of nationality and discrimination, while ensuring the avoidance of statelessness. Understanding Statelessness in Australia | Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 7