Australian citizenship test: format & pass mark

Last reviewed 12 August 2026 · Reviewed by the AussieTizen editorial team

Independent study tool · Not affiliated with the Department of Home Affairs

The Australian citizenship test is 20 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, and passing takes two things at once: at least 15 correct (75%) and all 5 Australian values questions correct. You sit it on a computer at a Department of Home Affairs appointment, in English, and every question comes from the official study booklet, Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. Most test-day nerves come from not knowing the rules, so here they are in plain English.

Test format

The test has 20 questions and a 45-minute time limit. Every question is multiple choice — you pick the correct answer from the options shown. There is nothing to write and no open-ended questions. This format has applied since 15 November 2020, when the Australian values questions were added, so older articles that describe a different shape are out of date.

The test is computer-based and in English only. It doubles as a check that you have a basic knowledge of English, which is one more reason to read each question carefully rather than skimming it.

The whole test is drawn from Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond, the official study booklet published by the Department of Home Affairs. It is free to read and download, and it is the only source the real questions are based on — so your preparation should come from it, or from practice built on it.

What is the pass mark?

You need to answer at least 15 of the 20 questions correctly, which is 75% — the mark set out on Home Affairs' learn about the citizenship test page. On the score alone, that means you can get up to 5 questions wrong.

The score is only half the test. The values gate below is the half that surprises people.

The Australian values questions

Every test includes 5 questions on Australian values — freedom, respect, equality of opportunity, the rule of law, and the responsibilities that come with citizenship. You must answer all 5 correctly.

This is a separate condition from the 75% mark, and it is unforgiving. In practice, that means:

• 15/20, all values correct — a pass. You met both conditions.
• 19/20, one values question wrong — a fail, despite a 95% score.
• 14/20, all values correct — a fail. The values questions do not lift you over the score bar.

The practical takeaway: the values material is worth more of your study time than its share of the questions suggests. It is the one topic where "mostly right" is not good enough.

What the test covers

The testable material is Parts 1 to 4 of Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond, plus the glossary of key terms. On this platform that material is organised into 5 sections:

• Australia and its People: the First Peoples, European settlement and history, national symbols and flags, traditions and national days, and Australia's leaders.
• Democratic Beliefs, Rights and Liberties: freedoms, equality and a fair go, and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.
• Government and the Law: parliament and forming government, the states and territories, courts and police, the three levels of government, federation and the Constitution, voting and elections, and the head of state.
• Australian Values: the 5 questions you cannot afford to get wrong.
• Key Terms: the glossary that the wording of many questions depends on.

Government and the law carries the most detail — names, roles and structures — so plan the most reading time there, and the most drilling time on values. For the hardest question types, and why the difficulty is not where people expect, see how hard is the Australian citizenship test.

Where and how you sit it

You sit the test on a computer, in person, at an appointment arranged by the Department of Home Affairs. There is no at-home or online option to choose, and no way to select your own slot. How the department allocates that appointment, what its letter tells you and where sittings are held are covered in the guide to the citizenship appointment.

The test itself costs nothing extra. In Home Affairs' own words: There is no extra cost to sit the citizenship test. The citizenship application fee that you paid includes the test. (learn about the citizenship test). If a website asks you to pay to book or sit the official test, it is not the official process.

The clock is the part worth rehearsing. The test ends when the 45 minutes are up and whatever you have answered is scored. That is generous for 20 multiple-choice questions — a little over two minutes each — but the only way to make the countdown feel normal is to practise against a real one.

Do you have to take it?

In general, applicants for Australian citizenship who are aged 18 to 59 must sit and pass the test. Applicants outside that age range, and some applicants with specific exemptions, do not. Your own requirements are decided by the Department of Home Affairs against your application — always check your situation on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. This guide is general information, not immigration advice. If you are 60 or over — or helping someone who is — see the citizenship test at 60 and over for exactly what the live pages say about age.

What if you do not pass?

You can sit the test again. The Department of Home Affairs arranges another appointment for you. As at 12 August 2026, Home Affairs does not publish an attempt limit on its test pages — a site that names a number of chances, either way, is not getting it from a current official page.

What a retake does cost you is time, and another appointment in a process that is already long. Between attempts, focus your review on the topics you found hardest, and on the values material regardless of how it went, since that is where a single slip decides the result. For the full picture — the two ways to fail, re-sits, costs and a second-round study plan — see what happens if you fail the citizenship test.

The quickest way to get ready

The format rewards practice. Three habits make the biggest difference:

1. Get used to answering 20 questions under a 45-minute countdown, so the timer never surprises you.
2. Drill the Australian values questions until they are automatic — that is the condition that turns a good score into a fail.
3. Read all of Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond, and review every practice question you get wrong until you can answer it from memory.

One honest note on practice questions: nobody outside the department has the real ones. Home Affairs says of its own official practice test that it is a sample test only. The questions will be different on the day of the test (prepare for the test). The same is true of every practice site, including this one — what practice builds is command of the booklet's material and the format, not memorised answers.

You can try a free practice test now, with no sign-up needed. Our questions are original practice questions based on the official Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond booklet — they are not the department's actual test questions, which are never published. Do a few full timed mocks in the week before your appointment and you will sit down knowing exactly what to expect.

This page explains how the Australian citizenship test works and is for study and preparation only. It is general information, not immigration advice, and does not determine your eligibility for citizenship. For official rules and any updates, rely on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au; official Department of Home Affairs guidance controls if anything here differs.