This article tests claims about the legal significance of possessing Australian citizenship against the legal reality.

Abstract

The Preamble to the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) makes three broad claims about Australian statutory citizenship: that it signifies ‘full and formal membership of the Australian community’; that it is characterised by the possession of ‘reciprocal rights and obligations’; and that it is a ‘bond’ that ‘unites all Australians’. This article examines the extent to which these claims accurately describe the legal implications of citizenship in Australia. In doing so, it looks in detail at the degree to which holding Australian statutory citizenship impacts upon the rights a person possesses in four broad categories that are intrinsically connected with citizenship: status protection rights, rights to entry and abode, rights to protection, and political rights.