Who can apply
The character requirement for Australian citizenship
Check how the character rules apply at your age, then see when a past prison sentence stops blocking approval.
Independent, non-government site: tests, applications and appointments are handled only on the Home Affairs website.
Character: what Home Affairs looks at
Good character test
Applies to you
| Release from a 12-month sentence | none declared |
| Police checks | Australia from 16, overseas if required |
| Pending court case | blocks approval |
Every applicant for Australian citizenship by conferral aged 18 or over must be of good character, which Home Affairs defines as the enduring moral qualities of a person. The question is whether you are likely to uphold and obey Australian law and keep the other commitments of the pledge. The department may consider recorded criminal convictions, obligations to a court in Australia or overseas, association with people of concern, reported domestic violence, and honesty in dealings with the Australian community, including false or misleading information in a visa or citizenship application. On top of that judgement, the law sets hard bars: no approval while charges are pending, while you are on parole, bail or a good behaviour order, while you are held in prison or a psychiatric institution by court order, or within 2 years of release from a sentence of 12 months or more (10 years for a repeat offender). Home Affairs requests an Australian police check for applicants aged 16 or over.
When does a past prison sentence stop blocking approval?
Approval barred until about
June 2027
| Applies to | a sentence of 12 months or more |
| Bar after release | 2 years |
| After that | good character still assessed |
Pending charges, parole, bail or good behaviour conditions also stop approval while they last.
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How questions and dates are built
Judgement first, then fixed bars
The character rules have two layers. The first is an overall assessment of good character, made case by case from your record and conduct. The second is a list of situations in which Home Affairs must not approve the application at all, however strong the rest of the file is. Understanding which layer affects you tells you whether to wait, to gather evidence, or to apply now. The Home Affairs criteria set out both.
What the assessment looks at
- recorded criminal convictions, in Australia and abroad;
- obligations you may have to a court in Australia or overseas;
- association with people of concern;
- incidents of reported domestic violence;
- honesty in your dealings with the Australian community, including information given in earlier visa or citizenship applications.
The test is forward-looking: whether you are likely to uphold and obey the laws of Australia and meet the commitments you will make in the pledge.
The bars that stop approval
| Situation | Effect |
|---|---|
| Proceedings for an offence against an Australian law are pending, including an appeal or review | no approval until they end |
| Released from prison less than 2 years ago after a sentence of 12 months or more | no approval until the period ends |
| The same, for a repeat offender | 10 years instead of 2 |
| Subject to parole, bail, good behaviour or similar court conditions | no approval while they apply |
| In prison or a psychiatric institution by court order at the time of decision | no approval |
The second tool on this page turns a release date into the month after which the prison bar no longer applies. Passing that month does not mean approval: the good character assessment still takes place.
Police checks
Home Affairs requests a National Police Checking Service check on your behalf if you are 16 or over; you do not order it. Overseas penal clearance certificates are your responsibility. For permanent visa holders they are needed when, since turning 18 and within the last 10 years or since your first permanent visa (whichever is more recent), you spent 12 months or more outside Australia in total and 90 days or more in one country. The documents and police certificates page explains how to get them, and the special case of New Zealand, where Home Affairs asks the Ministry of Justice itself.
Descent applicants too
Character is not only a conferral issue. Citizenship by descent applicants aged 18 or over must also be of good character, assessed on the same factors, and Home Affairs requests an Australian police check if they have spent time in Australia since turning 18.
Timing your application
If a bar applies to you, an application lodged now cannot be approved while the bar lasts, so the fee is better spent later. Wait until proceedings close, until court conditions end, or until the release period passes. Separately, a person who ceased to be an Australian citizen cannot be approved within 12 months of that cessation, and anyone assessed as a risk to national security cannot be approved. If your application is refused, the refusal page explains the letter and the review it may offer.
Preparing your answers
Gather court records for any conviction before you start the form, in Australia and abroad, and check whether any court order still applies to you, such as parole, bail or a good behaviour order. Keep your account consistent with what you declared in earlier visa applications: a discrepancy is itself a matter Home Affairs can weigh under honesty.