A bill on widening the grounds on which someone’s citizenship can be revoked is in danger of breaching international law, a bipartisan committee has said.
The joint human rights committee, which scrutinises the compatibility of Australian bills with international law, released a report late on Tuesday looking at the citizenship legislation.
The bill has already passed the House of Representatives, and is being considered by a separate Senate committee.
It seeks to expand the immigration minister’s powers to revoke or deny citizenship.
Revocation or denial of citizenship can apply to people who do not meet a good character test, anyone who has been convicted or implicated in a crime, people who have sought treatment for drug addiction or residential programs for mental illness, and anyone who became a citizen through fraud or misrepresentation.
A number of the clauses in the bill relate to children. The bill seeks to limit instances in which children can automatically become citizens when they were born in Australia. It also prohibits citizenship for children whose parents or caregivers have obtained their citizenship via fraud or misrepresentation.
The rights of children are particularly at risk of being limited by this bill, the report found.
“The committee ... considers that the proposed discretionary power to revoke Australian citizenship without a court finding limits the obligation to consider the best interests of the child,” the bipartisan report said.
The bill gives the power to the immigration minister to revoke or deny citizenship without oversight from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The human rights committee found that the bill limited rights in seven separate areas of international law, including the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of movement.
The clause in the bill that states people who have previously been mandated to undertake residential programs for mental illness could be barred from becoming Australian impinged on international anti-discrimination laws, the report found.
“The committee agrees that the measure engages and limits the right to equality and non-discrimination,” the report said.
The report will go to the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, who must reply to its concerns with justifications for imposing limitations on international rights.
The committee will then issue another report stating whether or not it is satisfied with the minister’s justifications.
Impinging on international law standards does not stop domestic Australian law from coming into effect.
“The committee has essentially asked the minister for more advice,” Labor’s Michelle Rowland said. “We’re really at the first step here.”
Labor expressed concerns about the fast passage of the citizenship bill when it appeared before the lower house, but said it would consider how it votes on the bill in the Senate once the Senate committee has made its recommendations.
“The joint parliamentary committee actively engages with ministers on legislation which ensures there is an effective dialogue that ensures a proper appreciation of the recognition of international human rights obligations in our domestic law,” the committee chair, Liberal party senator Dean Smith, said.
