It's an attempt to ramp up the powers of the Immigration Minister over who can become an Australian citizen.
But passage of the proposed changes to the 2007 Australian Citizenship Act didn't proceed as smoothly as the government would have liked.
It was referred to a Senate committee after the federal opposition bemoaned what it says was the paltry amount of time the government left the bill open to debate.
The committee has been taking submissions on the proposed changes, which have been been strongly criticised by asylum seeker and human rights groups.
Greg Dyett reports.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
(Click the audio tab above to hear the full report)

