Senate inquiry into citizenship changes recommends watering down English test

A parliamentary senate committee has handed down four recommendations on the government’s planned citizenship changes, including lower English language requirements.

Australian citizenship recipients

Australian citizenship recipients and their guests attend a citizenship ceremony on Australia Day in Brisbane, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. Source: AAP

In a report tabled in parliament Tuesday night, the committee has suggested a new English language test ‘should not be so high as to disqualify from citizenship many Australians who, in the past, and with a more basic competency in the English language, have proven to be valuable members of the Australian community’.

The committee, chaired by coalition senator Ian Macdonald, found a good understanding of the English language is essential to fulfill the obligations of Australian citizenship, but cautioned against ‘the adoption of a standard that many current citizens could not reach’.

During public hearings the government’s push to require migrants to pass a standalone English test at IELTS Band 6 was widely criticised as too strict and impossible for less-educated new arrivals.

The committee also recommended the government reconsider plans to impose a ban on applications for people who fail the citizenship test three times.

It has suggested additional tests should be allowed on a cost-recovery basis instead, which it believes would still deter less-genuine applicants.



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