British subjects and Australian citizenship

Question: My husband was a baby when he came to Australia in 1951 as a 10 Pound Pom. He has lived here all his life and never left the country. We are trying to find out if he is considered an Australian citizen. Do you know if this was automatic in 1951?

Answer: In the years immediately after WW2, in order to increase both national productivity and boost our defence capabilities, the Australian Government focused on expanding the population through immigration. There was, however, concern in the community about who would make up this new, expanded population – it was felt at the time that too many non-British immigrants might alter Australian society in an undesirable way. With this in mind, Arthur Calwell, the first Minister of Immigration, developed a national immigration policy, making it easier for British subjects living in Australia to gain citizenship.

So it was out of the shadow of the White Australia policy that the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 was formed, gaining support on both sides of the political divide.

For a brief time between 26 January 1944 and 26 January 1949, a British subject resident in Australia, automatically became an Australian citizen. Otherwise, before and after this time, an application for citizenship has been required in order to obtain Australian citizenship.