New citizen Nicla loves being a Ballan local

NICLA D’Argento came to Australia from Italy in 2018 with professional and personal ambitions, and earlier this month took the formal step of becoming an official Australian citizen.

Ms D’Argento, 29, was among 36 people who took the pledge at one of two Moorabool Shire Council citizenship ceremonies at the West Maddingley Early Years and Community Hub.

And she is suggesting to others that they do the same.

“I’ve already been recommending it to a few friends,” she said.

The graduate architect, who is working towards her formal registration, is employed by a Melbourne company after completing her masters degree here.

“I wanted to do an internship abroad and I had chosen to do an exchange during my bachelor (studies) in Italy,” she said.

“But I didn’t graduate in time…so I decided to look around for other internship opportunities and came across Australia, and that was it.

“I was meant to stay for a month, and now it’s been eight years.”

Initially settling near Daylesford, Ms D’Argento moved to Ballan about six months ago.

“I’ve always had a dream to buy a lot of land by myself, be able to design a home and have an animal sanctuary, but I’d never actually lived in the [non-metropolitan] country,” she said.

Ms D’Argento ultimately settled on Ballan as her preferred option because of its proximity to Melbourne and closeness to services.

“It’s lovely because it’s very quiet and it has a lot of services; it’s not too far from the bigger cities like Ballarat and Melbourne,” she said.

Ms D’Argento, who also met her partner in Australia, took the citizenship step primarily for stability but also wants to officially contribute to this country.

“I didn’t want to worry about renewing my visa or getting deported if something happens,” she said, adding that access to government services available to citizens was another factor.

“Also I can vote in a country I actually live in; there was no point in my voting in Italy and it is not compulsory there.

“[It’s about] actually having a citizen’s responsibilities but also being a local.”

Ms D’Argento plans to maintain her Italian citizenship alongside her new Australian one.