Is Citizenship in Australia Simply an Individual's Legal Status - Essay Example

? Is citizenship in Australia simply an individual’s legal status? In Australia, citizenship can be regarded as an essential step in recognition of a person as a full member of the society. By becoming a citizen of Australia a person endeavors to make a commitment to the country and the entire nation. Gaining citizenship heralds the start of formal membership in the Australian community. Thus, a person can only regard himself/herself as an Australian by becoming a full citizen of the country. This study seeks to answer the following question – is citizenship in Australia an individual’s legal status? The study will examine the benefits and awards that accompany being an outstanding Australian citizen. Precisely, the study seeks to explore the fact that citizenship is not just a legal status since there is more to it. Citizenship in Australia can be regarded as a legal status in a number of ways. Australian citizenship came into being 26 January 1949 under the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1948. Before the act, Australian citizens used to be British subjects; they shared a nationality code similar to that in Britain. One of the ways through which a person can become an Australian citizen includes citizenship by birth. In this case, a person becomes an Australian citizen if born before 20 August 1986 or when a person was born after that date, but one of the parents held Australian citizenship (Davis, 1996, p. 76). Legally, a person can also be considered an Australian citizen if born overseas and one of the parents held citizenship of Australia at the time of birth. Moreover, people are eligible to become Australian citizens if they were British subjects residing in Australia for 5years before 26 January 1949. Apart from the fact that Citizenship in Australia is a legal status, it can also be considered a privilege which offers numerous rewards. Once a person becomes an Australian citizen, he or she joins a community that can be regarded as unique. With numerous awards, Australia provides its good and loyal citizens with numerous benefits (Davis, 1996, p. 77). Examples of awards in Australia include the Young Achiever Award which acknowledges, rewards, encourages, and promotes the remarkable achievements of young people between the age of 14 and 27 years. The Young Achievers Award has some objectives which include acknowledging and highlighting the achievements of young persons in Australia. The award also strives to use examples of youth achievement with the ultimate aim of educating the general public. Moreover, the award aims at motivating and encouraging young Australians at all levels in their respective fields (Maton, 1995, p. 41). In a way, the Young Achievers Award helps the young citizens to develop some pride in being citizens of Australia. As a result of the award, Young Australians have the opportunity to build self-confidence, since the rewards enhance excellence. Young citizens receive this award as a way of providing mentors and role models for youth by noticing the pursuit of excellence and the achievements of young people. Moreover, the Young Australians Award has an objective of priding good citizens by encouraging and developing life skills and leadership skills among the youth (Dutton, 2002, p. 17). Another popular award given to Australian citizens includes the Regional Achievements and Community Awards. The award is common in areas of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. Citizens in these regions seek this award with a lot of determination. The award aims at encouraging and paying tribute to individuals, groups, businesses, and communities who make significant contributions to the rural and regional areas. Therefore, the award aims at encouraging those people working in rural areas with an aim of enhancing and supporting commercial, economic, social, and environmental prosperity. This award plays a significant role in recognizing citizens who work extremely hard to develop their respective fields and the communities in which they live. In Australia, loyal citizens are also given awards such as the Community Achievement Awards. These awards are designed to recognize the efforts of individuals who work tirelessly to create a difference in their local communities and the State. The citizens who work towards making Australia a better place have an opportunity of receiving this award as a way of recognizing their endless efforts, which contribute to the wellbeing of the nation (Jupp, 2001, p. 762). Good citizens in Australia have the opportunity to receive the Premier’s Community Volunteering Awards. These awards are designed to promote and celebrate those citizens who have contributed to volunteering activities, especially in their respective areas of residence. For example, individuals who engage in volunteering activities through community participation and community organizations in informal settings have the opportunity to receive these awards. These awards recognize the enormous benefits that a community gains from the participation of individuals in volunteering activities (Hudson & Kane, 2000, p. 20). Thus, engaging in volunteering activities can be regarded as a crucial action in the citizenship of Australia since numerous benefits accrue from such participation. This provides an opportunity for those individuals in the nonprofit sector to benefit from activities geared towards improving the community. Good Australian citizens have the opportunity to receive the Australian business awards, which honor business personalities who demonstrate the core business values of social environmental contributions, corporate social responsibility, and business excellence. The criterion for selecting the winning organizations involves the acknowledgement of product development, innovative business processes, enterprise, and product development. This award aims at recognizing the endless efforts of these business personalities who bring significant changes in society. The state categorizes successful business persons as exemplary citizens since they contribute to the development of the communities in which their businesses operate. Another award given to outstanding Australian citizens is the National Medal, which recognizes citizens who have served for fifteen years in government organizations. This Award recognizes individuals who have served in institutions such as correctional organizations, the police force, emergency organizations, and lifesaving organizations that provide rescue services. In addition, there exist long service awards, which play a role in recognizing diligent members of the armed forces who have served for exclusively long terms (Dutton, 2002, p. 19). The Australian Defense Medal acknowledges citizens who have served with a lot of commitment in the Australian Defense Force. More specifically, this award recognizes individuals who have completed four years service, which is referred to as an initial enlistment period. This award came into being on the 20th of March 2006; its establishment came under the Letters Patent (Sutherland & Robin, 2008, p. 685). The Award has played a central role in recognizing the efficient services of former as well as current members of the Australian Defense Force (ADF). This includes the Reserve and Regular personnel as well as National Servicemen who have served since the end of the Second World War (Sullivan, 2009, p. 25). Other awards include the Australian Bravery Decorations, which recognize bravery acts from the members of the community. This award recognizes and acknowledges those citizens who selflessly jeopardize their lives in order to enhance the safety of other citizens. However, the state differentiates bravery and courage from situations of crisis. Thus, only those individuals who deliberately choose to go from safety to danger stand the opportunity to receive this award (Sutherland & Robin, 2008, pp. 686). One of the most significant bravery decorations includes the Cross of Valour, which is awarded to individuals who portray remarkable courage in instances of extreme danger. The Australian Bravery decorations can be traced to the establishment of the Australian honors system in February of 1975 (Maton, 1995, p. 44). The Australian of the Year Award also recognizes the endless and remarkable efforts of outstanding Australian citizens. During the Australia Day celebrations, this award provides the forum for the recognition of outstanding achievements of citizens. The award plays a central role of offering insights into Australian identity and reflects the role of sports in the culture of Australia. The Australian of the year award has offered an insight into the identity of Australia and reflects the developing relationships of the nation with the outside world (Galligan & Roberts, 2004, p. 8). Involvement in Australian citizenship plays an essential role in creating a harmonized society. Loyal citizens tend to abide by the state law and rarely engage in behavior that may cause disharmony in the nation. They always strive to work towards maintaining peace in the nation. This does not always stem from the legal status of the Australian citizenship (Galligan & Roberts, 2004, p. 14). To a considerable extent, it emanates from the feelings of the citizens that they should maintain harmony in their respective communities. As a result, peace is enhanced in the entire nation. While concluding this study, it is worth noting that citizenship in Australia cannot only be regarded as a legal status because there are many other aspects that accompany Australian citizenship. The numerous awards and recognition given to loyal citizens portray the commitment of the nation to recognize national heroes. Through the awards, loyal citizens receive what they deserve for their exclusive service to the wellbeing of the nation. References List Davis, S. L., 1996. Citizenship in Australia: Democracy, Law and Society. Victoria: Constitutional Centenary Foundation. Dutton, D., 2002. One of us? A Century of Australian Citizenship. Sydney: UNSW Press. Galligan, B. and Roberts, W., 2004. Australian Citizenship. Victoria: Melbourne University Publishing. Hudson, W. and Kane, J., 2000. Rethinking Australian Citizenship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jupp, J., 2001. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Maton, M., 1995. The National Honors and Awards of Australia. Roseville: Kangaroo Press. Sullivan, L., 2009. Who's who in Australia? Melbourne: Crown Content. Sutherland, P. and Robin, C., 2008. Veterans' Entitlements Law. Annandale, Federation Press. Read More