Today is Australian Citizenship Day when we reflect on our responsibilities and privileges as
Australian citizens.
It doesn’t matter if you were born here or became a citizen yesterday, we are all equal and we all
have responsibilities that contribute to the success of our nation.
It is through our responsibilities as citizens and our shared Australian beliefs and values that we
have built a nation that is simultaneously diverse and united.
That should be a cause of great pride.
Every Australian can today reflect on the words of the Australian Citizenship Pledge:
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and
liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.
September 17 was chosen as Australian Citizenship Day because it is the anniversary of the
renaming of the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 to the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 in
1973.
