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Citizenship ceremonies are an important opportunity to welcome new citizens formally as full members of the Australian community.
A citizenship ceremony is where you make the Australian citizenship pledge of commitment. For most people, this is the final step in the journey to becoming an Australian. After your citizenship application is approved you will receive an invitation to attend a ceremony.
Lake Macquarie City Council conducts four citizenship ceremonies each year.
Yes, you must attend the ceremony if you were 16 years or older when you applied. You will not become an Australian citizen until you have read the Australian citizenship pledge in the presence of a presiding officer (Minister for Home Affairs, Mayor or CEO of Lake Macquarie City Council).
Please advise Council if you are unable to make your scheduled ceremony date as per the instructions on your letter of invitation. The Department of Home Affairs will reschedule you to a future ceremony.
Children under the age of 16 do not have to attend the ceremony to receive their certificate. Their certificate can be given to their attending parent on the day. Children are however welcome and encouraged to attend with their parent(s) if they wish.
Within three to six months of your application being approved, you will receive an invite to a ceremony.. You can expect to receive this invite around four to six weeks prior to your assigned ceremony date.
Invitations are sent via mail from Council. For more information on ceremony waiting times please visit the Department of Home Affairs wait times.
The pledge contains the words you will read out loud in the presence of the Presiding Officer in order to complete your citizenship requirements.
Two versions of the pledge are available at the Department of Home Affairs website.
You need to bring your invitation to the ceremony and one form of photo identification:
If your documents are not in English, you must provide official translations.
If you do not have photo identification, then bring at least three documents showing your name and address. These include:
If you are under 16, you do not need to bring photo identification.
If you want to make the Australian citizenship pledge on a holy book, bring a book with you to the ceremony.
You will need to check-in and register your attendance before taking your seat. You will be required to show your photographic identification and invitation.
The ceremony comprises of:
At the end of the formalities, you will have the opportunity for more photographs along with a light morning tea.
You should allow 60-90 minutes from when the ceremony commences.
The ceremony is an important event where you make a commitment to Australia. What you wear should reflect the importance of the occasion. All people attending the ceremony should dress in smart business or smart casual clothing. You can wear national or cultural dress if you want to.
Council will provide an official photographer take photos during and after the ceremony. We will email you a copy of the photos after the event as soon as possible. Your guests attending may also take additional photos.
If we use photography for promotional purposes, we will ask you for permission to use these images.
Yes, you can bring along extra guests. There will only be allocated seating for one guest (per person) in the room. Additional guests will be required to stand or sit at the back of the room if space permits.
The application process to become an Australian Citizen can be lengthy. Attending a ceremony and making the pledge is the final step in this process. Four to six weeks prior to a scheduled Citizenship Ceremony, Council receives a list of candidates who are eligible to make their pledge from the Department of Home Affairs.
Invitations will be sent from Council to all candidates on this list. Council is unable to add people to this list.
Note: the above dates are subject to change.
Let us know if you are unable to attend. Contact details will be included on your invitation. Your details will be transferred to the next available ceremony.
If you do not attend a ceremony within 12 months of your approval the Department of Home Affairs may cancel your approval if you do not provide an acceptable reason as outlined in citizenship legislation or policy, supported by satisfactory evidence.
Please visit the Department of Home Affairs website for advice.
In order to maintain the integrity and fairness of the ceremony allocation process, ceremony allocations are performed by order of approval date only. Please note there is no option to ‘fast-track’ or ‘expedite’ your ceremony. Urgent ceremonies are only approved in exceptional and very limited circumstances. In order to qualify for an urgent ceremony, you are required to provide full details along with supporting evidence to demonstrate your exceptional circumstances via email to ceremony.nsw@homeaffairs.gov.au
If you do not provide evidence, your request will not be assessed and you will not receive a reply. Please ensure all documentation is translated into English.
One or more of the below criteria would need to be met before any consideration can be made:
Note, the following types of circumstances are not considered genuinely urgent or compelling: