Recommendation 228

Dual citizens may only be deprived of their citizenship through certain conduct incompatible with the safety and shared values of the Australian community, including engaging in terrorist acts.

Australian citizenship is a common bond, involving reciprocal rights and obligations. Where dual citizens engage in conduct - such as terrorism - that is incompatible with the shared values of the Australian community, consideration can be given as to whether the person has acted inconsistently with their allegiance to Australia and severed that bond. A person's Australian citizenship cannot be revoked if it would render the person stateless.

Additionally, under Section 34 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (the Citizenship Act), in certain circumstances the Minister can revoke Australian citizenship where a person acquired it by conferral and they have committed a serious offence against an Australian law or foreign law or have committed migration-related fraud.  The structure of this revocation power means that a conviction must be secured before the Minister is empowered to consider whether or not it is in the public interest for a person to remain an Australian citizen. For revocation due to a serious offence, the relevant conviction must have taken place after making the application to become an Australian citizen and the serious offence itself must have taken place at any time before the person became an Australian citizen. Furthermore, the Minister cannot revoke a person's Australian citizenship on the grounds of committing a serious offence if they are not a national or citizen of another country.