Australian Citizenship Amendment (Stripping Terrorists of Australian Citizenship) Bill 2026; Second Reading

Summary

This legislation allows the Australian government to revoke Australian citizenship from people convicted of terrorism offences, but only if they hold citizenship in another country as well. The change modifies Australia's citizenship laws to create a new power for stripping citizenship in these specific cases. It aims to remove dangerous individuals from Australia by making them stateless is not possible — they retain their other citizenship — while preventing people convicted of terrorism from remaining in the country.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause