WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A Naoero-Australia treaty grants all people in Naoero Australian citizenship.
OUR VERDICT
False. The treaty does not grant citizenship.
AAP FACTCHECK – Residents of Naoero, the Pacific Island nation formerly known as Nauru, will not be granted Australian citizenship under a treaty signed in 2024, despite claims online.
The agreement provides funding to support the country’s economy and security, but makes no commitments regarding citizenship.
The false claim appears in an August 28 Facebook post.
“Anthony Albanese used borrowed money to clear the national debt of Nauru while leaving struggling Australians to pick up the bill,” the post reads. “They owed $26 million and Albanese gave them $100 million.
“Albanese signed a Treaty with Nauru. People from Nauru are able to come to Australia as they please, he gave them all citizenship, due to ‘climate change’ They’ll use Australia for the dole and pension and NDIS and return to debt free tropical Nauru for holidays.”
The Pacific Island nation officially changed its name from Nauru to Naoero in 2026, returning to its traditional spelling and pronunciation.
It notified the UN of the change on June 26, according to ABC News.
The Albanese government signed a treaty with Naoero in December 2024, which came into effect in September 2025.
Under the agreement, Australia is providing $100 million over five years to support Naoero’s economy, plus an additional $40 million for police training and security.
In return, Australia is effectively granted veto power over national security and Naoero agreed that its critical infrastructure “shall not be used by any third party for security purposes”.
However, there is nothing in the treaty document that provides Australian citizenship to Naoero residents and no credible reports suggest it includes such rights.
The Albanese government signed a similar agreement with Tuvalu in November 2023, known as the Falepili Union, committing the two countries to mutually agree on any security- or defence-related matters.
The Australia-Tuvalu treaty created a special climate migration scheme allowing up to 280 Tuvaluans a year to receive permanent residency in Australia through a dedicated visa pathway.
However, the Naoero treaty does not contain any similar agreement on visas.
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