How does the Australian citizenship test work?

Home Affairs says most applicants for citizenship by conferral aged 18 to 59 will have an appointment to sit the test. Other applicants may only have an interview instead.

The Department’s interview guidance notes that applicants aged 16 or 17 may need to show they understand the nature of their application, have a basic knowledge of English and understand the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. Applicants aged 60 or over, or with a hearing, speech or sight impairment, may be asked to show they understand the nature of their application.

Your appointment letter tells you whether you are sitting the test or attending an interview.

You have 45 minutes to answer all 20 questions. That is a little over two minutes per question, which is enough time to read every option carefully and to check the Australian values questions twice.

The 45 minutes is the test itself. Allow extra time at your appointment for arriving and confirming your identity; see what happens on test day.

Home Affairs says all test questions are based on the Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond resource. The testable section has four parts:

1. Australia and its people
2. Australia’s democratic beliefs, rights and liberties
3. Government and the law in Australia
4. Australian values

The book is available in 40 community languages to help you study, but the test itself is in English only.

There are two conditions, and you must meet both:

• an overall mark of at least 15 out of 20 (75%)
• all 5 Australian values questions answered correctly.

Home Affairs says that after an interview, processing of your application continues and the Department notifies you in writing when a decision is made. If your application is approved and you need to attend a citizenship ceremony, the invitation is generally sent about four weeks before the ceremony.

For anything specific to your test result, follow the information Home Affairs gives you at or after your appointment. If you do not pass, read what to do if you fail.

Home Affairs offers an official practice test that looks and feels like the real one; it is a sample, and the questions on the day are different. On this site, every mock test has 20 questions, exactly 5 of them on Australian values, an optional 45-minute timer and the same two-part pass rule.