Local councils won't be forced to run citizenship ceremonies on January 26 after Labor scrapped a controversial rule made by Scott Morrison.
The rule introduced by the former prime minister meant any council that didn't hold ceremonies on that date could be stripped of their right to hold citizenship events, as a number of Melbourne local governments refused to recognise the national holiday.
Councils can now hold the citizenship ceremonies any time from January 23 to 29.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said his government was "removing red tape" around ceremonies, although he added it remained a "strong expectation" they were held on January 26.
"Australian citizenship is an important common bond for all Australians, whether by birth or by choice, and lies at the heart of a unified, cohesive and inclusive Australia," he said.
"The government's priority is to ensure that, where people have made the choice to become Australian citizens, they are afforded that opportunity in their own communities, with friends and family, in a timely way."
But the opposition fired back, saying Labor was undermining the significance of the national day and bowing to Greens-dominated local council pressure.
"The message (new citizens) are receiving from the Albanese government is that January 26 is no more special than any other day of that week," opposition citizenship spokesperson Dan Tehan said.
"Make no mistake, this is Labor laying the groundwork to abolish January 26 as Australia Day despite Anthony Albanese promising during the election campaign that Labor had no plans to change the date of our national day."
Mr Giles also announced the Yarra and Darebin City councils had regained authority to hold citizenship ceremonies, after former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull stripped them of that right in 2017.
Mr Turnbull described the councils as "out of step with Australian values".
A third Melbourne council - Merri-bek - announced earlier this month it would no longer hold events on January 26 and would instead host a mourning ceremony to acknowledge the experiences of Indigenous Australians.
"The very idea that we celebrate, hold parties and welcome new people to this country on this day is pretty shameful," councillor James Conlan said at a council meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Tehan said Australia can celebrate on January 26 while still honouring the "incredible richness" of the country's 65,000-year history.
The government says there are fewer than 100,000 citizenship applications on-hand for the first time in five years.
