Lost Australian Citizenship Certificate: How to Replace It

You do not lose your Australian citizenship when you lose the certificate, and you do not sit the test again. What you need is new evidence of your citizenship, and Home Affairs has a separate application for it. This guide explains who can apply, what it costs, which documents to prepare and how long it takes, based on the official pages.

Evidence of citizenship, not a new citizenship

Home Affairs offers an application for evidence of Australian citizenship. It is for people who are already citizens, including people who may have acquired citizenship automatically by operation of law, for example by being born in Australia in certain circumstances, and want proof. It is also the route if you were issued with a citizenship certificate or extract before but have lost it, if you were a child included on a parent's certificate, or if you became a citizen by descent. You do not apply again for citizenship and you do not take the citizenship test.

Do not use this form if you are still applying

Home Affairs says not to apply for evidence if you are applying for citizenship now. If your application is approved and you become a citizen, you receive a certificate then, usually at the citizenship ceremony. The evidence application is also not the way to get citizenship for a child who was born overseas to an Australian citizen. That is citizenship by descent and has its own application.

Who is eligible

Home Affairs lists groups who may be eligible, depending on where and when they were born. Examples are people born in Australia between 26 January 1949 and 21 November 1984, people born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986 when at least one parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and people born in Australia on or after that date who were ordinarily resident for the first 10 years of life and so acquired citizenship on their 10th birthday. There are also categories for people born in Papua or New Guinea, people adopted in Australia on or after 22 November 1984, children born in Australia to New Zealand citizen parents, and British subjects born before 26 January 1949. Check the official list for your own birth date.

How to apply and what it costs

You apply and pay online in ImmiAccount using the form for evidence of Australian citizenship, Form 119. The fee in the Home Affairs fee schedule (Form 1298i, design date July 2026) is $290. No fee is payable if the evidence was lost, destroyed or damaged in a natural disaster on the Home Affairs list and you apply within 18 months of the date specified for that disaster. Fees usually increase on 1 July each year, so check the current schedule on the day you apply. You can be any age, but applications for children under 16 must be made by a responsible parent, and you cannot include children in your application: each person needs a separate form.

Proving who you are

You need to give identity documents that show your photograph and signature, for example an Australian driver licence, a passport, a national identity card, a UNHCR document, an ImmiCard or an Australian issued proof of age card. You also need evidence of your residential address, such as an electricity, gas or water bill, a rates notice, a rental contract or a bank statement. Where you do not have enough documents, Home Affairs uses an identity declaration, Form 1195, with a passport sized photograph. Both must be signed by a person with the correct authority, and the form explains who that is. You scan the signed form with the photograph and attach it to your online application.

Supporting documents for your situation

If you were issued with evidence before, give your old certificate or extract if you still have it. You must surrender it, unless other people are named on it, for example if you are named on a parent's certificate. If you were born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986 and at least one parent was a citizen or permanent resident, give evidence of one parent's citizenship or permanent residence where it is available. If you may have become a citizen on your 10th birthday, give evidence of both parents' status and of your 10 years of residence, such as immunisation records, school reports or banking records. If you were adopted in Australia, give the adoption papers. Different documents apply to people born in Papua and to British subjects born before 1949.

Translations, scans and the photo

Documents that are not in English need an English translation, and you provide the original and the translation. In Australia the translator must be accredited by NAATI, the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited. Each translation must show the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications, in English. Scan all originals in colour so that they are legible, save a document of several pages as one file and attach each document only once. You also provide a photo of yourself that meets the Home Affairs photo requirements.

How long it takes

The Home Affairs processing times page says that 90% of applications for evidence of Australian citizenship are processed within 15 days, on the page last updated on 16 October 2026. Applications can take longer if they are incomplete, if Home Affairs needs more information or if verifying your details takes time. A complete set of documents is the best way to stay near the quoted time. For other processing times, see our guide to how long Australian citizenship takes.

Lost Your Australian Citizenship Certificate? How to Apply for Evidence of Citizenship