New legislation regarding Australia’s immigration policy was approved by the senate on 26 February 2007, having been passed by the House of Representatives in November of last year.

The Australian Citizenship Bill of 2006, as it is being called, is regarded as being the most significant change to Australian Migration Law in 60 years.

Under the new legislation, the length of time that new migrants will need to have resided in Australia before becoming eligible for permanent residence has been increased from two years to four years. The increase was initially suggested to extend to three years; however a further year was added onto the legal proposal for security reasons.

Further changes to immigration policy include increasing the age of those who are exempt from the mandatory English test from 50 to 60 in order to make it easier for citizenship to be regained by those who had previously renounced it, if they are of “good character.”

The main purpose for the legislative changes were said to be for security reasons, and, under the new laws, Australia’s Security and Intelligence Department now has the right to veto a person’s migration application if that person is deemed to be a security risk to the state.