Australian Citizenship Ceremonies

Council holds citizenship ceremonies on behalf of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) .

Council's role is to provide a forum where people can state their Pledge, after successfully applying for Australian citizenship. At the ceremony, they receive their Certificate of Australian Citizenship, dated and signed. From that date on, they are Australians.

Australia Day citizenship ceremony 2013

The 2013 Australia Day citizenship ceremony at The Events Centre, Maroochydore on 26 January is at capacity. If you have not received an invitation to attend this ceremony you will be placed on the waiting list to attend a future ceremony.

For recipients attending the ceremony in Maroochydore, this event will be streamed live . Your family and friends can watch the ceremony online from anywhere in the world.

Citizenship ceremonies 

Hundreds of people within the Sunshine Coast region receive their citizenship every year. Every two months council receives a list of approved applicants from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). An invitation will be sent to the first 150 approved applicants to attend an upcoming ceremony date (depending on the venue capacity). The invitations will be sent approximately six to seven weeks prior to the ceremony. The recipient invitee must RSVP to an upcoming ceremony. If an approved recipient does not receive an invitation this usually indicates they missed the cut off date to go on the approved list from the DIAC. If this is the case, the recipient will most likely be sent an invitation to the next ceremony.

Note: You cannot request to be added into a earlier ceremony unless it is for something urgent. This will be assessed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Council orders the certificates from DIAC three weeks before the event, once everyone has confirmed they are attending. You will receive a final confirmation letter approximately two weeks before the event with directions and parking arrangements.

Children of citizenship applicants 

If you have a child who is under 16 years, they will be added onto your application and will automatically receive a citizenship certificate at the ceremony. If your child is over 16 years of age, they will need to apply for their citizenship on a separate application through DIAC. They will need to follow this up with DIAC as each applicant can vary.  

Ceremony dates and venues

Council normally holds ceremonies during January, March, May, July, September and November (depending on the Mayor's availability). Ceremonies are held during the week. The only ceremony council holds on a public holiday is on Australia Day every year (26 January).

Venues are subject to change across the region. For details regarding the date and venue for the next citizenship ceremony, contact council's customer service centre.

Private citizenship ceremonies

Council may arrange a private ceremony when citizenship is required urgently. You must provide a valid reason with evidence why a public ceremony is not appropriate. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship then assess the request.

Council holds private ceremonies in its chambers at Nambour at a date and time mutually convenient to the recipient and the Mayor or Deputy Mayor. These ceremonies take only a few minutes. You can arrange one by contacting council's customer service centre.

Applying for Australian citizenship

You must apply for Australian citizenship through the DIAC. You cannot get Australian citizenship automatically by having lived in Australia for a certain time or by marrying an Australian citizen. 

The Australian citizenship test 

Most people applying for citizenship will need to pass the citizenship test before lodging their application. Applicants who lodged an application for citizenship before 1 October 2007, or are aged under 18 years and over 60 years are not required to sit the citizenship test. 

You can find application forms and information from offices of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship , migrant resource centres and major post offices.

Confirmation of citizenship

Once you have applied for your citizenship, DIAC will notify you in writing when they approve your application. The confirmation letter from DIAC will state: 

Congratulations! You are accepted to be an Australian citizen and the local council will contact you. 

DIAC will then send the names to the local council. Council only receives notification from DIAC of successful applicants once a month. You may receive your letter of approval from DIAC some three to four weeks before council receives notification. 

Contacts

For more information, please contact council's customer service centre or email .

Or you can contact: 

Department of Immigration and Citizenship
GPO Box 9984
BRISBANE 4001
(Level 13, 299 Adelaide Street)
Citizenship Enquiry Line: 131 880