How hard is the Australian citizenship test?

The test in numbers

The rule that makes it strict

Most tests let a strong answer in one area make up for a weak one in another. This one doesn't. The 5 values questions are a separate gate: miss one and you don't pass, even with every other answer right.

Try a few results in the checker below. It applies the same two rules as the real test.

So treat Part 4, Australian values, as material you must know cold. Practise it until you would get every values question right on a bad day.

What actually trips people up

Answers that are true somewhere else

A wrong answer is often something that sounds sensible, or that is true in another country. The test asks about Australia as the booklet describes it. When two answers look possible, choose the one the booklet would give. Try this one:

Unfamiliar words

The booklet is written in plain English, but government and law bring their own vocabulary. These words are worth learning properly, with the meaning the booklet gives them.

Referendum

A vote to change the Australian Constitution. Voting in a referendum is compulsory.

Double majority

What a change to the Constitution needs: a majority of voters in a majority of states, and a majority of voters across the nation.

Bill

A proposed law, before Parliament has passed it.

Royal Assent

The Governor-General signing a Bill that both Houses of Parliament have agreed to, which makes it law.

Rule of Law

Everyone is equal before the law, and no one is above it.

Secular

Separate from churches and other religious bodies. Australia has no official national religion.

Electorate

The area that a member of the House of Representatives represents.

Constitutional monarchy

A country where the King is Head of State but must act according to the Constitution.

Learning lists without meaning

Memorising "1 January 1901" is easy. Knowing that it is both the day of Federation and the day the Constitution came into effect is what answers the question when it's asked a different way.

Nerves on the day

The test room is quiet and formal: phones off, no notes and no talking. Knowing that in advance helps. So does knowing that you have time to read every question twice, and that your result appears on screen as soon as you finish. Our guide to test day walks through the whole appointment.

How to tell you're ready

• You consistently score well above 75% on full practice tests of 20 questions.
• You get all 5 values questions right in every practice test.
• You can explain each part of the booklet in your own words: who the first Australians are, what the democratic beliefs are, how a law is made and what the values mean.
• You finish a practice test inside 45 minutes with time left to check your answers.

The official practice test on the Home Affairs website makes a good final check, because it is designed to look and feel like the real test. It is a sample, though: Home Affairs says the questions on the day will be different. For more practice, our free practice test has 12 questions with answers and booklet pages, and the CitizenOz app has 444.

If English is your second language

The test is in English only, and it checks basic English as well as knowledge. The booklet comes in 40 community languages, which is a good way to understand the ideas first. Then read the English version, because the English words are the ones you'll see on the day. The free AMEPOnline citizenship modules teach the booklet's content to English learners through characters and stories. At the test centre, you can choose to listen to the questions through a headset.