Becoming an Australian citizen is a landmark decision in someone's life and is a public recognition of a person's commitment to Australia.
While the process of becoming a citizen is managed by the Australian Government's Department of Home Affairs, the final Australian citizenship pledge is taken at a local citizenship ceremony organised by Council.
A new citizen pledges loyalty to Australia and its people and to its democratic beliefs, rights, liberties and laws.
This year, Hawkesbury City Council has increased the frequency of its citizenship ceremonies to shorten the waiting times for new Australians who have put their hand up, and who had sometimes been waiting for more than six months to make their pledge to our nation.
Council has moved away from the traditional half-yearly ceremonies to smaller, more frequent events. Previously, some 40 to 80 people attended a ceremony, with some people waiting up to six months to receive their citizenship. Now, with the increased frequency, between 10 and 25 citizens attend each ceremony, with 68% of new citizens waiting less than three months to make the pledge, 32% making the pledge within three to six months and none waiting for more than six months.
Christinique and Ryan Chapman from South Africa were among 14 conferees at Council's October citizenship ceremony that included residents originally from Fiji, France, India, Indonesia, Malta, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Russia.
Christinique says, "We are over the moon excited to have finally become Australian citizens."
She said becoming a citizen meant a lot as it had been a long journey from when they first decided, in 2016, to make the move.
"We originally decided to move to Australia as we had family here. After living in Australia for a few years we really loved the people, the culture and the amazing quality of life available here and decided we wanted to stay and make this our home.
"We love the people [in the Hawkesbury] but also there is a lot more space and nature out here which we love."
Council will hold its next Citizenship Ceremony on Australia Day 2025.
