2022 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 4(1) The three issues regarding Australia’s implementation of art 1(1) of the 1961 Convention outlined demonstrates that, although Australia may have shown initial leadership in committing to reduce statelessness, more needs to be done to meaningfully address the issue in practice. The next Part of this commentary will provide an overview of key measures that have been implemented to address these issues, drawing on the previous discussions. A Issue One: A New National Statelessness Network to Increase Awareness There is a significant lack of awareness within Australian stateless communities regarding the right of Australian-born children to apply for citizenship. This is further complicated by a general lack of expertise within the Australian legal community regarding statelessness. To address this issue, the Stateless Children Australia Network (‘SCAN’) was established in 2021 with the aim of developing knowledge regarding the number, legal status and legal needs of Australian-born stateless children. 38 SCAN’s mandate includes establishing a formal network of Australian legal practitioners currently assisting stateless children. The network aims to foster professional skill development regarding statelessness with the Australian legal community, increase legal assistance pathways for eligible children and support legal outreach to raise awareness within stateless communities regarding this key entitlement. B Issue Two: A New Legal Clinic to Assist Stateless Children There is a critical lack of legal services and legal funding for stateless children in Australia. While some legal services may assist stateless children with citizenship applications on an ad hoc basis, the Refugee Advice & Casework Service’s (‘RACS’) Stateless Children Program hosts the only dedicated legal service for these children in Australia.39 To address this need, in 2021, the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness and the Melbourne Law School (‘MLS’) Clinics at the University of Melbourne partnered with RACS to conduct a pilot legal clinic for stateless children. The Stateless Children Legal Clinic (‘SCLC’) had the dual benefit of increasing free legal assistance to stateless children and their families, as well as offering MLS Juris Doctor (‘JD’) students the opportunity to develop practical legal skills within a clinical legal education framework. 40 The initial pilot included two JD students who were supervised by the SCLC Coordinator and a dedicated solicitor from RACS.41 The pilot SCLC was highly successful. Between March and May 2021, the clinic assisted more than 20 stateless children to apply for Australian citizenship, with more waitlisted for future assistance. 38 39 40 41 See ‘Stateless Children Australia Network’, Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness (Web Page, 2021) <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/statelessness/engage/stateless-childrenlegal-clinic/stateless-children-legal-australia-network>. See ‘Stateless Children’, Refugee Advice & Casework Service (Web Page) <https://www.racs.org.au/stateless-children-program>. See ‘Stateless Children Legal Clinic’, Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness (Web Page, 2021) <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/statelessness/engage/stateless-children-legalclinic> (‘SCLC Web Page’). The author gratefully acknowledges Refugee Advice & Casework Service solicitor Ahmad Sawan and Centre Director and Principal Solicitor Sarah Dale for their expert supervision of the pilot Stateless Children Legal Clinic. 210