The Australian citizenship test explained: 20 questions, 75% to pass

The citizenship test is a short computer-based exam you sit as part of an application for Australian citizenship by conferral. It is run by the Department of Home Affairs, and in almost every case you sit it at the same appointment as your citizenship interview, where your identity and documents are also checked.

The test has two jobs. It checks that you know some basic facts about Australia - its people, its system of government and its laws - and it checks that you understand and commit to the values Australians share. Because the test is only available in English, it also acts as a rough check of your basic English.

Every question comes from one book: Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. Only the four testable parts of that book can be examined. Nothing outside it can appear in your test, which is good news - the material you need is finite and completely public.

The test is the same shape for everyone:

• 20 questions, each multiple choice with one correct answer.
• 45 minutes to complete them. That is well over two minutes per question, and most people finish with time to spare.
• English only. The questions, the options and the on-screen instructions are all in English, and no dictionary or translation is allowed in the room.
• On a computer at a Home Affairs office or testing location. You do not sit it at home or online.
• Result on the spot. You are told whether you passed before you leave.

Questions are drawn at random from a large bank, so no two people sit an identical test and there is no set of "the 20 questions" to memorise. What you can do is learn the material well enough that any question drawn from it is easy.

This is the part people most often get wrong when they explain the test to each other. There is not one pass rule - there are two, and you must satisfy both.

The two rules interact in a way that surprises people. Score 18 out of 20 but miss a single values question, and you have not passed. Score exactly 15 out of 20 with all five values questions right, and you have. A high overall score never rescues a wrong values answer.

Practically, that means your five wrong-answer margin only exists in Parts 1 to 3. In Part 4 you are aiming for a clean sweep, so it is the part worth over-preparing.

The testable section of Our Common Bond is divided into four parts. Your 20 questions are spread across them, with five reserved for Part 4.

Part 1 - Australia and its people

The basics of the country and its story: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants, European settlement and later waves of migration, the states and territories, national symbols such as the flag, the coat of arms, the national anthem and the national colours, and national days including Australia Day and Anzac Day.

Part 2 - Australia's democratic beliefs, rights and liberties

What Australians are entitled to and what they owe in return: parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and a secular government, freedom of association, equality under the law and equality of men and women, and the responsibilities of citizenship such as voting, jury service and defending Australia if needed.

Part 3 - Government and the law in Australia

How the country is run: the three levels of government (federal, state or territory, and local) and what each is responsible for, the roles of the King, the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and Premiers, how a bill becomes a law, the two houses of federal parliament, elections and preferential voting, and the courts and police.

Part 4 - Australian values

The shared values you commit to as a citizen. This part supplies the five questions you cannot afford to lose, so it gets its own section below.

Part 4 is not really a knowledge test. The facts in Parts 1 to 3 can be hard - not everyone remembers how many senators each state elects - but the values questions are about whether you understand and accept how Australians expect people to live together. The values themselves include:

• Respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual.
• Freedom of religion, including the freedom not to follow one, and a secular government.
• Freedom of speech and freedom of association.
• Equality of all people under the law, and equality of men and women.
• Equality of opportunity - the "fair go" - regardless of background, gender, religion or ethnicity.
• Peacefulness, and rejecting violence as a way to change laws or settle disagreements.
• Parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.
• Mutual respect, tolerance, compassion for those in need, and English as the national language.

Questions in this part are often framed as a situation rather than a fact. You may be asked whether it is acceptable to force someone into a marriage, whether violence is ever an acceptable way to protest a law you dislike, or whether men and women have equal rights in Australia. The answers follow the values consistently: freedom, equality, peacefulness and respect for the law.

The test applies to people applying for citizenship by conferral who are aged 18 to 59 at the time they apply. If that is you, you will sit it.

You generally do not need to sit it if you are 60 or over, if you are applying for a child under 18, or if you have a permanent physical or mental incapacity, or a hearing, speech or sight impairment, that means you cannot understand the questions or demonstrate the required knowledge. There are also separate arrangements for some applicants, such as people applying by descent or adoption, who follow a different pathway altogether.

You lodge your citizenship application first. Home Affairs then books you an appointment, usually for the interview and the test together, and tells you where to go and what to bring.

Arrive early. Bring the identity documents listed in your appointment letter - typically your passport, your evidence of permanent residence, and photo identification with your current name and signature - along with the letter itself. If any of your documents are not in English, bring the accredited translations. Missing paperwork is the most common reason an appointment has to be rescheduled.

At the appointment an officer checks your identity and your documents, and asks you questions about your application. The test itself is taken on a computer in the office. You will be shown how it works before you start, you can move between questions, and you can change an answer before you submit. When you finish, you get your result immediately, and if you pass you will be told what happens next - most people then wait for an invitation to a citizenship ceremony, where they make the pledge and formally become Australian citizens.

Not passing is not the end of your application. Your application stays active, you do not reapply, and you do not pay the fee again. Home Affairs books you another appointment so you can sit the test again.

You should not treat the resit as unlimited, though. If you do not pass after several attempts, the Department can decide your application on the material in front of it, and it may be refused. Take the second attempt as seriously as the first: find out which part let you down, study that part specifically, and only go back when your practice scores are consistently comfortable.

Most people who fail did not study badly - they studied unevenly. A plan that works:

1. Read the testable section of Our Common Bond once, all the way through. It is free from Home Affairs and it is the only source of questions. Reading it once gives every practice question somewhere to attach to.
2. Sit a full 20-question practice test early. Do it before you feel ready. A first score tells you which parts need the work far faster than re-reading the book does.
3. Practise part by part. Drill the specific part that is dragging your score down rather than doing more mixed tests and hoping the weak spot fixes itself.
4. Get Part 4 to perfect, then keep it there. Because the values rule is all-or-nothing, "usually right" is not good enough. Practise values questions until five out of five is routine, not lucky.
5. Star the questions you get wrong and come back to them. The questions you miss twice are the ones that will decide your test.
6. Finish with full simulations. In the last stretch before your appointment, sit complete mixed tests so the real thing feels familiar. Aim to be scoring 18 or better, consistently, with a clean Part 4.

Spread this over a couple of weeks rather than cramming the night before. Short, regular sessions are how facts like the three levels of government or the order of the states actually stick.

• Assuming 75% is the only rule. A single wrong values answer fails you no matter how good the rest of your score is.
• Rushing. You have 45 minutes for 20 questions. Reading each one twice costs you almost nothing and catches the wording traps.
• Memorising practice answers instead of learning the material. Questions are drawn at random from a large bank, so recognising an answer position is worthless.
• Skipping the parts you find boring. Part 3 - government and the law - is where most people lose marks, precisely because it is the part they least enjoy studying.
• Turning up without the right documents. It does not affect your score, but it can cost you the appointment entirely.