The City of Cockburn holds citizenship ceremonies on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs throughout the year for Cockburn residents to receive Australian Citizenship. A citizenship ceremony is where you make the Australian citizenship pledge, the final step in becoming an Australian.
For all information on becoming an Australian citizen please visit the
Department of Home Affairs website.
Receiving an invitation to a citizenship ceremony
Once approved you will receive a letter from the Department of Home Affairs. The Department of Home Affairs sends the City of Cockburn a list of invitees around 6 weeks before each ceremony. You will receive your invitation by email as soon as your details have been received by us on an invitation list. If you have not received an invitation email then we do not yet have your information.
All ceremony allocations are managed and approved by the Department of Home Affairs. Any queries you have regarding scheduling, including early or urgent ceremony allocation, must be directed to the Department by emailing
[email protected] or by calling their office on 131 880.
From the time of receiving your letter of approval from the Department of Home Affairs, it may take several months to recieve an invitaton to attend a ceremony due to the high number of approvals. If you wish to make the pledge with family or friends who have also applied for citizenship, you must let the Department know at the time of your interview so they can link your applications together.
Ceremonies at the City of Cockburn are usually held once a month on a Monday evening at 6pm. Please arrive at 5.30pm for registration and remember to bring photo identification. Identity documents must be current and original documents (not photographs on your phone, or photocopies).
Passports
You can apply for an Australian passport after you have attended a citizenship ceremony, made the Australian Citizenship Pledge and received your citizenship certificate. You can usually do this from the day after your ceremony, by completing a passport application online or by visiting a post office. It can take at least 3 to 6 weeks to get a new Australian Passport after your ceremony. For assistance, call the Australian Passport Information Office on 131 232.
Lost citizenship certificates
If you have lost your certificate and need evidence of your Australian citizenship, you can order a replacement certificate from the Department of Home Affairs website. You will need to complete an application form and pay the applicable fee for a new or replacement certificate.
Security and your online safety
You are welcome to take photos at your ceremony for personal use only. However please take extreme care if posting photos with your citizenship certificate online. To protect yourself from possible identity theft, ensure your personal details on the certificate including your full name, date of birth and identification numbers are not clearly visible or able to be copied. Please do not engage professional photogrpahers or videographers to film your ceremony.