The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Mr David Coleman has claimed the new investment in boosting resources within the Department of Home Affairs has helped processing citizenship applications effectively.
According to the latest government figures, 45,500 citizenship applications were finalised between July and October 2018, of which 39,000 applications were approved.
The approvals have more than doubled compared to just 15,500 approvals in the same period in 2017.
"The increase in finalisations and approvals of citizenship applications has occurred against a backdrop of increased integrity measures, a record number of applications and an increase in complex cases," Mr Coleman said.
He attributed the results to Government’s new investment in increasing resources alongside an enduring focus on the security and integrity of Australia's immigration and citizenship programs.
"Since 2015 we have introduced a range of measures to ensure the integrity of the program and the good character of those seeking Australian citizenship," Mr Coleman said.
"At the same time, the Government is working to make the citizenship processing system as functional and effective as possible for legitimate applicants, and these efforts are showing good results," he said.
The development comes at the back of citizenship approvals plunging to a 15-year low in the last financial year when the number of people conferred with the Australian citizenship fell below 81,000 for the first time since 2002.
The Department has established a task force to focus on complex citizenship cases- one of the primary factors held responsible for dwindling citizenship approvals last year. An investment of $9 million is being made in the recruitment and training of extra staff to ensure citizenship applications are dealt with as efficiently as possible.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with new Australian citizens at in Canberra, Thursday, Jan 26, 2017. Source: AAP
"We are investing heavily to meet this demand, while also protecting the security and integrity of the system to ensure only legitimate applications are approved.
"Australian citizenship is a privilege and should be granted to those who support our values, respect our laws and want to contribute to an even better Australia."
Nearly 245,000 citizenship applications awaiting an outcome
In spite of an increase in the number of applications finalised until October 2018, the wait time for citizenship approvals has blown out by several months.
The current Waiting times have gone up to 18 months from 14.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed to SBS Punjabi that 244,765 citizenship applications were awaiting processing as of 30th June 2018.
The Department of Home Affairs attributes the long processing times to “greater national security threats” and its efforts to ensure the safety of all Australians by additional integrity measures to verify the identity and good character of applicants.
“These measures have been progressively introduced since 2015 and follow the report into the Lindt Café Siege that recommended the Department better assess the possible risks posed by individuals at the pre-visa, post-visa and pre-citizenship stages,” a Department spokesperson told SBS Punjabi last month.
The spokesperson added that a high demand for Australian citizenship and an increase in the number of complex cases were also contributing to delays in the processing of applications.
While 75% of applications are processed in 18 months, 90% of applications are processed within 20 months, according to the Department's published global processing times.
Source: Department of Home Affairs
