George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the minister with principal carriage of the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Bill 2007, Senator Ellison, may I thank honourable senators for their contributions to the second reading debate. First, may I deal with some questions that have been raised by senators in their speeches on the second reading. Senator Nettle and Senator Hurley both raised the question of the funding of the Adult Migrant English Program. I inform honourable senators of the following matters concerning that program. The government has consistently demonstrated that it is willing to assist in settlement services to assist migrants and humanitarian entrants to settle in Australia and to learn English. In the 2007-08 budget, the government provided an additional $209 million over four years to six Australian government agencies to enhance services for humanitarian entrants. In addition, the Australian government currently spends $285 million annually delivering English language programs to new migrants and refugees.

Funding for the Adult Migrant English Program has increased from $98 million in 2003-04 to $156 million in 2006-07. The government is also considering providing further assistance to help migrants and refugees to prepare to pass the new citizenship test. Under the Adult Migrant English Program, migrants who do not have functional English are legislatively entitled to up to 510 hours of English language tuition or until they reach functional English, whichever comes first. In addition to the 510 hours, under the special preparatory program, humanitarian entrants under 25 years of age with low levels of education can access a further 400 hours. In 2006 the Prime Minister agreed to the formation of an interdepartmental committee (IDC) on English language chaired by DIAC. The IDC recently considered options for the provision of more flexible, vocationally focused and better integrated English language training to meet the needs of migrants and refugees. The government acknowledges that citizenship test preparation assistance funded by the government may need to be made available to the community.

Can I then deal with the question of the test, an issue that was raised by Senator Nettle. The bill refers to ‘a test’, the indefinite article, rather than ‘the test’, the definite article, so that it is clear that more than one test may be approved by the minister. Among other things, this approach means that we are not discriminating on the basis of the type of visa which a prospective citizenship holds. That has never been a factor of Australian citizenship policy and law.

Senator Nettle also raised the question of Senate scrutiny over the determination and test questions; that is, the determination of citizenship and the test on which that determination is based. The government does not believe that the determination, which will approve the content of the new citizenship test and include the test questions, should be subject to the disallowance provision of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 for the following reasons: in the government’s view there is likely to be uncertainty and confusion if potential applicants have sat and passed a test which is then disallowed. There may then be a question about whether such persons would need to re-sit the test in order to satisfy the general eligibility criteria. The determination does not in any event fall within the meaning of a ‘legislative instrument’ as defined by section 5 of the Legislative Instruments Act: it is not of a legislative character; it will not determine the law or alter the content of the law.  I trust those observations meet the concerns raised by individual senators on those matters.

Let me turn to summing up the bill overall. The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Bill 2007 amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and provides for the introduction of formal citizenship testing for citizenship applicants. People living in Australia enjoy many rights, including equality, before the law, and freedom of religion and expression. Australian citizens also have the right to vote and participate in our democratic processes. We also have responsibilities: we must obey Australia’s laws, respect the common values, and respect the rights and freedoms of others. We are also encouraged to become involved in the community to help make Australia an even better place. The material which will form the basis of the tests will highlight the common values we share as well as our history, heritage, symbols, institutions and laws. It will give migrants to Australia the information they need to better understand what it means to be Australian, their rights as Australian citizens and what is expected of them in return.

The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 requires that applicants for citizenship, by conferral under the general eligibility provision, understand the nature of their application, possess a basic knowledge of the English language, and have an adequate knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship. This bill provides that these applicants must have successfully completed a test before making an application for citizenship to demonstrate that they meet these requirements. People who are not required to have knowledge of the English language or the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship will not be required to sit the citizenship test. This includes applicants under the age of 18 or those 60 years or over, and those with a permanent physical or mental incapacity which prevents them from understanding the nature of their application. The citizenship test will provide prospective citizens with the opportunity to demonstrate in an objective way that they have knowledge of Australia, including the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship and a basic knowledge of English. The requirement to sit a test will encourage them to obtain the knowledge that will support successful integration into Australian society and enable them to maximise the opportunities Australia has to offer.

Concerns have been raised regarding the power in the bill that allows for a ministerial determination to establish eligibility criteria for sitting a test. Specifically, the concern is that a determination may establish eligibility criteria that are inappropriate and unfair, with no parliamentary scrutiny and no opportunity for disallowance. Legal advice confirms that the determination-making power in proposed section 23A does not allow for the setting of eligibility criteria for sitting the test that are inconsistent with the provisions of the act and, in particular, the general eligibility criteria in section 21(2). For example, a determination could not legally provide that only people of French-speaking background are eligible to sit a test.

The power is required for two purposes. One is to ensure that the resources available for testing are used only for prospective citizens. The second is to enable access to any special test that may be needed to be limited to those for whom the special test is intended. In this regard the bill refers to ‘a test’ rather than ‘the test’ so that it is clear that more than one test may be approved by the minister. This is the issue which I addressed earlier. The introduction of formal testing will be carefully monitored to identify those prospective citizens for whom an alternative test or tests may be appropriate. This approach will enable the development of an alternative test or tests to be designed on the basis of an identified need rather than conjecture. To help alleviate the concerns about test eligibility criteria, the government has proposed the insertion of a note to explain that the power to set eligibility criteria to sit a test cannot be inconsistent with the act and, in particular, general eligibility criteria for citizenship.

I will now address the recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, which recently completed an inquiry into the bill. I acknowledge, Mr Acting Deputy President Barnett, that you chair that important Senate committee. The first recommendation was that the operation of the testing regime be reviewed three years after the bill’s commencement. As has been stated publicly, the test will be monitored closely, particularly for the first six months, to determine whether any patterns emerge suggesting a particular cohort has difficulties with the test. The government agrees with the committee’s recommendation that a formal review of the testing regime should be conducted three years after commencement of testing.

The second recommendation was to table the proposed citizenship test questions in parliament. The rationale behind making the test questions confidential is to provide an incentive for people to read the citizenship test resource book, which will help them gain an understanding of the concepts contained in the book. Publicising the questions will serve to promote rote learning of the answers; for this reason the test questions will remain confidential and will not be tabled in parliament.

The third recommendation was that clause 23A(1) of the bill be amended to specifically require that the test relate to the eligibility criteria in proposed sections 21(2)(d), (e) and (f). Legal advice has confirmed there is no ambiguity with this subsection of the bill. However, to ensure no further conjecture about this issue, the government has proposed the insertion of a note that will explain that citizenship tests must be related to the general eligibility criteria in the new sections 21(2)(d), (e) and (f). These criteria require applicants to have an understanding of the nature of the application for citizenship, to possess a basic knowledge of the English language and to have an adequate knowledge of Australia, including the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship.

Concern has been raised that the content of a citizenship test, including the questions and answers, may be unreasonable. It is important to note that, with the exception of knowledge of Australia, these requirements for citizenship under the general eligibility provisions, which applicants will be required to demonstrate by successful completion of a test, are longstanding. Indeed, the requirement to have a knowledge of the English language has been a feature of Australian citizenship legislation since its commencement on 26 January 1949. It is also the case that most adult applicants for citizenship, including refugee and humanitarian entrants, have been required to satisfy those requirements. The bill will introduce an objective form of assessment as to whether an individual satisfies these requirements. As has been noted previously, the test questions will be designed to test knowledge contained in the citizenship resource book, which will be freely and widely available to all.

In summary, this bill will ensure that new citizens have the necessary knowledge of the Australian way of life to which they are required to commit. This will aid their successful integration into our society. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question negatived.