The Australian citizenship test pass mark: 75%, and the 5 questions you cannot get wrong

Most people preparing for the test are working towards a single number: 75%. That number is right, but on its own it is not enough to tell you whether you have passed.

The test applies two separate rules, and you have to satisfy both:

1. Score at least 75% overall. That is 15 or more of the 20 questions.
2. Answer all five Australian values questions correctly. These come from Part 4 of Our Common Bond, and there is no allowance for getting one wrong.

As a count rather than a percentage:

• 20 questions in total.
• 15 correct is exactly 75% - a pass.
• 14 correct is 70% - a fail. There is no rounding up, and no partial credit.

So you can afford to get five questions wrong, and no more. That sounds generous until you remember the second rule: if any of those five wrong answers is a values question, the 15 out of 20 does not save you.

In practice, the safe way to think about it is that you have five spare answers across Parts 1, 2 and 3, and zero spare answers in Part 4.

Part 4 of the testable material covers Australian values - the commitments shared by Australians, and the responsibilities and freedoms that come with citizenship. Five of your 20 questions come from it.

The Department treats these five as non-negotiable, because they are about whether you understand and commit to the values you will be pledging to at your ceremony. That is why the rule is absolute rather than proportional.

Because there is no margin here, the values section deserves a disproportionate share of your study time. Getting from 80% to 95% on Part 3 is worth much less to you than getting from 90% to 100% on Part 4.

Across the three remaining parts, the marks are not lost evenly.

• Part 1 - Australia and its people. Usually the most comfortable, because a lot of it is general knowledge you pick up living here.
• Part 2 - Australia's democratic beliefs, rights and liberties. Overlaps with Part 4 in tone, so studying one helps the other.
• Part 3 - Government and the law in Australia. The most specific and least intuitive detail: the three levels of government, who does what, how laws are made, the role of the Governor-General. If your practice scores are sitting just under the line, look here first.

A single practice pass might just be an easy set. Consistency is what tells you where you stand.

A reasonable benchmark before you sit the real test:

• You score 18 or more out of 20 on several different practice sets, not just one.
• You get every values question right, every time, across those sets.
• You are not guessing on Part 3 questions - you know why the right answer is right.

Aim well above 15, not at it. On the day, nerves and unfamiliar wording will cost you something, and a practice score of exactly 15 leaves you nothing to give back.

If you want the full picture of how the test is structured before you start, read the Australian citizenship test explained. If you are worried about what happens if it does not go well, read what happens if you fail.