Table 1: Number of Australian citizenship by conferral applications lodged by stateless people refused from 2018–19 to 2023–24 (to 29 February 2024) Number of Australian citizenship by conferral applications lodged by stateless people refused from 2018–19 to 2023–24 (to 29 February 2024), by refusal reason and year of decision (as at 29 February 2024) Year of decision Character-related Citizenship test-related Other Total 2018–19 7 13 125 145 2019–20 <20 <5 447 467 2020–21 16 42 105 163 2021–22 18 60 64 142 2022–23 14 75 26 115 2023–24 (to 29 Feb) <5 <40 51 90 Total 75 229 818 1,122 Significantly, stateless people applying for citizenship face different processing wait times, depending on their mode of arrival in Australia. On average, stateless people who arrive by boat face longer processing times—between 2015 and May 2020, children born in Australia to parents without nationality (who arrived in Australia seeking asylum by boat) faced an average processing time that was 121 days longer than children born to stateless parents who arrived by air.68 This is consistent with the punitive migration policy adopted by the Australian government against people seeking asylum who arrive by boat, discussed in Chapter 2: Legal Framework above; although it is significant to see it impact children born in Australia. Such delays suggests that discrimination against stateless people who arrived by boat carries across to their Australian born children. 30 Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness | Understanding Statelessness in Australia