Racism

• What is an Australian? What color is her skin? As of 2011, Australia is 93% white, 6% Asian and 1% Aborigine. In a recent poll, ten percent of all Australians expressed discomfort over the reality of non-white citizenship, opposing interracial marriage and expressing ideas of white supremacy. The nation's geographic isolation may be in part responsible for these attitudes: Australia has a largely urban population with 80% of its citizens residing in or near large cities. An Australian living in a remoter portion of the country may not have experience in meeting and working with non-Western Europeans.
  
  

Dual Citizenship

• Dual citizenship means a person retains citizenship in one country when becoming a citizen of another country. Until 2002, Australia didn't allow dual-citizenship and decreed that children under 18 of a person accepting citizenship in another country would lose their Australian citizenship. Even after the law was repealed in 2002, those who had lost their Australian citizenship had to show proof of good character in order to obtain it.
  
  

Children Born Outside Australia

• Children born outside the country who are under 18 years old must apply for Australian citizenship, even if their parents are Australian citizens. Adults and children ages 19 through 25 must also prove good character.
  
  

"Good Character" Definitions

• The phrase "good character" used in Australia's citizenship requirements is elastic. An applicant may be refused if he has had contact with someone of bad character, if the examiner thinks he may engage in criminal conduct while in Australia or if the examiner thinks his past conduct shows bad character. The examiner is allow wide latitude to make these decisions.