Australian Citizenship Test at a Glance

The Australian citizenship test is a rather new addition to the naturalization process. Anyone looking for Australian citizenship is bound to sit for the test as part of the application process. With the 2007 Australian citizenship Act Australia managed to fit the citizenship test in the application. At first the test showed a high failure rate stopping most of the citizenship applications. That's when the department of Citizenship and Immigration decided to gather a special committee that would review the test and shape it so that is adjusted to the government intentions.

So what is the test meant for? If we analyze the test on a superficial level we will see that the test has two main objectives; provide the applicant with the general Australian values and test their English level. That doesn't mean that there is a separate test for English language, the sole understanding of the questions phrasing and grammar is more than enough proof that the applicant has the level necessary to become a citizen.

What about the test content? The test questions are based on the Australian citizenship test resource book build by the DIAC. The book has a testable and a non testable section. Basically the non testable one includes the political and cultural position of Australia nowadays. The testable material goes from Historical, political, economical knowledge to the Australian symbols and electoral obligations. The resource book is called "Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond." and can be ordered or downloaded for free at the DIAC site.

Doing a deeper analysis of what the citizenship really is after reviewing the guide content is easy. For a democracy to work you need civilly active citizens that understand their obligations and responsibilities. They know how and why they need to vote. They share the Australian heart.

This is one of the key factors for us to have a citizenship test in our naturalization process. However is not an impossible task for immigrants to pass the test nor should be, that was the main reason to have a committee review the test content and update it in 2009.

The test is 20 multiple choice questions long with a 75% passing score; you can only miss 5 questions. The new version of the test doesn't have mandatory questions like the previous version did. The applicant has 45 minutes to complete a computer based test. The results are calculated immediately after submitting the test. If failed the applicant has the chance to retake the test on the spot, this is upon availability and depends on the region you are located, otherwise the DIAC personnel will arrange a new test schedule for you. The citizenship application won't be approved until the applicant passes the test so consider that failing the test multiple times will delay your citizenship. However the test can be taken as many times necessary for the applicant to pass it. The current test results show that only a 10% of the applicants fail the test in the first intent and a 4% in the second try. It is not an impossible task.

What is the best way to be prepared for the citizenship test? It is strongly recommendable to start studying for the test with time. The content is long and has a lot of dates and names that the applicant needs to know by hard. Once the content is learned it is recommendable to practice as many test samples as you can. Multiple choice tests have the correct answer within the options but sometimes it could get tricky. Doing practice questions will ensure a full content review.

The Australian citizenship test is one of the last steps to achieve Australian citizenship. It is not an impossible task; it just needs dedication and brain power.

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