The Department of Home Affairs has provided the following explanatory text which could assist in informing respondents to the standard question:
You are an Australian citizen if:
- you were born in Australia or one of its territories prior to 19 August 1986 (unless your parent was a foreign diplomat);
- you were born in Australia or one of its territories on or after 20 August 1986 and at least one of your parents was an Australian citizen or permanent resident (including a protected Special Category visa holder) at the time of your birth (see below *);
- you were born in Australia on or after 1 July 2022 to a New Zealand citizen parents holding a Special Category visa;
- you were born overseas to an Australian citizen parent/s, and you applied for and were granted Australian citizenship by descent;
- you were adopted overseas by Australian citizen parent/s in accordance with full Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption arrangements, and you applied for and were granted Australian citizenship by full Hague adoption;
- you have applied for, and have been granted Australian citizenship;
- you were legally adopted in Australia on or after 22 November 1984 by Australian citizen parent/s, and you were in Australia as a permanent resident at the time of your adoption.
* if you were born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986, but did not acquire Australian citizenship at birth, you may automatically acquire Australian citizenship on your 10th birthday if you lived in Australia for a period of ten years from the day you were born.
For further details on Australian citizen eligibility see the Department of Home Affairs’ website.
For some interview purposes (e.g. telephone interview) a truncated version of the recommended script may be more appropriate but should include the following concepts:
With the exception of children of foreign diplomats, if you were born in Australia before 20 August 1986, you acquired Australian citizenship at birth. On or after 20 August 1986, you were born in Australia:
- you acquired citizenship at birth if at least one parent, at the time of your birth, was either an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia; or
- if you did not acquire Australian citizenship at birth, you may have automatically acquired Australian citizenship on your 10th birthday if you lived in Australia for a period of ten years from the day you were born.
- If you were born overseas, you can only acquire Australian citizenship by application.
The ABS also produces citizenship data from administrative sources. Passenger movement data collected by Home Affairs from overseas arrivals and departures records and incoming passenger cards are the main sources used to compile these statistics. Data on 'Australian Citizenship' from these sources are not necessarily comparable with data collected using the standard question module, as some travellers may have dual citizenship and travel using a passport that is not Australian. For more details on these administrative data sources, refer to the Overseas Arrivals and Departures methodology.