Court powers to strip Australian citizenship for terrorism offences

Australian Citizenship Amendment (Stripping Terrorists of Australian Citizenship) Bill 2026

Private Member's Bill

1st House

2nd House

Law

Introduced by: Barnaby Joyce (PHON)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The court can order a person to stop being an Australian citizen if they are convicted of a terrorism offence; the person must be 18 or older.
The court must be satisfied the person's conduct was so serious it shows they repudiated their allegiance to Australia.
This power applies regardless of how the person became a citizen; it includes those who were citizens from birth.
The court cannot strip citizenship if it would leave the person without any nationality.
The court must consider the scale of the conduct; it must also consider if the person intended to cause harm or loss of human life.
The minister must take all reasonable steps to remove the person from Australia after they are released from custody.

News articles and press releases