The Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2025 forms part of the Government’s “tell us once” initiative to modernise service delivery and reduce duplication across Commonwealth programs. A key element is reform to citizenship evidence, enabling more streamlined, digital-first interactions with government.
Amendments to the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 introduce digital notices of evidence of Australian citizenship alongside traditional paper certificates, removing barriers to digital proof. The framework now clearly distinguishes between physical certificates and digital notices.
The Bill passed Parliament on 27 November 2025 and received Royal Assent on 4 December 2025. However, currently, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) can only provide physical citizenship certificates to applicants. The Department is yet to develop a digital solution that will allow for digital evidence of Australian citizenship to be issued to applicants. Overall, the purpose of these amendments was to remove legislative barriers that prevented the future development and provision of digital evidence of Australian citizenship.
Click here: Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2025