Citizenship discount for migrant pensioners

Migrant pensioners, veterans and widows who receive Centrelink payments will soon have to pay full price when applying for Australian citizenship after Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton removed a regulation that offered them a discounted price. Most people pay a AU$285 fee when they apply for citizenship, but disadvantaged pensioners and widows have long been granted a concession rate of AU$20 or AU$40.

Mr Dutton lodged a legislative instrument on Thursday last week that removes the concession, effective from July 1.

The Greens have already promised to attempt to overturn the regulation when parliament sits next week.