Dual Citizenship

Larissa Waters, who represented Queensland and recently made headlines for becoming the first senator to breastfeed her child in Parliament, issued a tearful apology Tuesday.

"It's with great sadness that I have discovered that I'm a dual citizen and I'll be forced to stand down from my position in the Senate," said Waters who holds both Australian and Canadian citizenship.

The prescribed countries under the dual citizenship arrangement are Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, United Kingdom and United States of America.

The minister said the delay in the legislative amendments being certified at the end of 2016 had now been completed and this would now enable administrative steps to press ahead.

Pato said there are a number of considerations that were taken into account when processing applications for dual citizenship.