3.2.6 Stateless people who have obtained Australian citizenship In a positive development, the rate of grants of Australian citizenship to stateless people has gradually increased sixfold over the past ten years: Figure 9: Number of stateless people granted Australian citizenship, 2015–2025 Many stateless people continue to have their application for citizenship refused, however. This is usually on the basis that the Minister is not satisfied as to the identity of the applicant, as per section 24(3) of the Citizenship Act. This is not surprising when we consider that our research showed that stateless people encounter significant challenges in substantiating their identity in citizenship applications due to inadequate or unavailable identity documentation in their possession. Our research also shows that stateless people usually require legal assistance to navigate the citizenship application process. Understanding Statelessness in Australia | Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 29