The Official Citizenship Booklet & Study Resources (Our Common Bond)

Last reviewed 2 September 2026 · Reviewed by the AussieTizen editorial team

What is Our Common Bond?

Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond is the official resource booklet for the Australian citizenship test, and it contains all the information you need to prepare for the test, according to the Department of Home Affairs' official practice test service. If you are getting ready to sit the test, this booklet is where your preparation should start and finish: the government's own guidance is simply to read the booklet, because everything the test asks comes from it.

The citizenship test itself checks your knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, which is exactly the ground the booklet covers. Treat Our Common Bond as the syllabus: if a topic is in the booklet, it can be asked; anything else is background reading.

What’s in the booklet?

The booklet contains everything the test can draw on: the Department of Home Affairs states that Our Common Bond has all the information you need to prepare for the citizenship test, and that all of the test questions are based on the booklet's content. In practical terms, that makes it a complete, self-contained study guide rather than one resource among many.

Because the test checks your knowledge of Australia and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, that is the territory the booklet walks you through. You do not need to hunt for extra reading lists or third-party summaries to be covered — the booklet is the source of truth, and everything else (including practice questions) exists to help you absorb what is already in it.

Are all Australian citizenship test questions based on the OCB resource booklet?

Yes — every question on the Australian citizenship test comes from the booklet: the Department of Home Affairs confirms that all the test questions are based on the Our Common Bond resource booklet. There is no separate or secret question bank drawn from other material, so nothing on the test should surprise a candidate who has genuinely worked through the booklet.

This is worth internalising as a study strategy. It means your time is best spent on the booklet itself rather than on rumours about what the test "really" asks, and it means any practice questions you use are only ever valuable to the extent that they reflect the booklet's own content.

How to study Our Common Bond effectively

Studying Our Common Bond effectively means reading the booklet properly and then testing yourself against it, because the Department of Home Affairs is explicit that you should read the booklet, which has all the information you need to prepare. Two official caveats shape how you should practise: the government's own practice test is a sample only, and the questions will be different on the day of your test. Memorising specific practice questions is therefore the wrong goal — the booklet's ideas are what get tested, in wording you will not have seen before.

Our free practice test exists for exactly this loop: use it to find your weak spots, then retake it as often as you like. Its questions are written in the style of the Australian citizenship test and based on the official study booklet, so a wrong answer points you back at the chapter you should reread. It is a free practice tool and does not replace the official test — but as a way of checking whether the booklet has actually sunk in, it turns passive reading into active preparation.

Can you refer to books, notes or other written materials during the Australian citizenship test?

No — you cannot refer to books, notes or other written materials while sitting the Australian citizenship test. The Department of Home Affairs lists this restriction plainly among its test rules: you cannot refer to books, notes or other written materials during the test.

This is precisely why Our Common Bond matters so much before test day. Everything has to be in your head when you sit down, so the booklet is not a reference you bring along — it is the material you internalise in advance.

Can you use mobile phones or other electronic devices during the Australian citizenship test?

No — mobile phones and other electronic devices are not permitted while you sit the Australian citizenship test. The Department of Home Affairs' test rules state that you cannot use mobile phones or other electronic devices during the test.

Plan for this on the day: whatever you normally rely on your phone for — notes, translations, quick look-ups — will be out of reach, so your preparation with the booklet has to stand on its own.

This page explains the official Australian citizenship test booklet, Our Common Bond 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.