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June 18, 2021

You Can Thank Us Later – Latest changes to the new Australian citizenship test

Passing the Australian Citizenship Test is the final step in realizing the migration journey that the prospective Australian Citizens dream of. It is designed to determine whether the applicants have sufficient knowledge of Australia, its people, their beliefs and values, and the responsibilities and privileges of being an Australian Citizen.

The Citizenship Test has been revised for the first time in a decade. The aspiring Australians will now have to answer five additional questions about Australian Values in their Citizenship Test. All five value questions need to be answered correctly to attain citizenship.

On Thursday, the move was announced on the Australian Citizenship Day by the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services, and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge.

The new changes will be effective from mid-November and require “potential citizens to understand and commit to our values,” Mr. Tudge said.

The Government affirmed that the new test would strengthen Australia’s Multicultural Society. The updated Citizenship test will have new and more meaningful questions that require potential citizens to understand and commit to our values like freedom of speech, mutual respect, equality of opportunity, the importance of democracy, and the rule of law,” Mr. Tudge said.

“We are asking those who apply for citizenship to understand our values more deeply before they make the ultimate commitment to our nation.”

What exactly are the changes?

There will be an addition of five new value questions effective 15th November 2020 in the test, which will revolve around topics highlighting Equality, Democracy, Mutual Respect, Religious Views, Marriage, Family Violence, and Learning English.

The citizenship test would also place a greater emphasis on the English language, confirmed Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The test would require potential candidates to acknowledge and understand and pass the Australian Values, emphasizing Freedom of Speech, Equal Opportunity, Mutual Respect, and the Democratic Structure of the Australian Society.

The test is a computerized test, with multiple choice questions in English. The new test will contain 20 multiple-choice questions, which would also include five questions on Australian values.

A candidate will have to correctly answer all five of these questions, with a 75 percent overall score, to pass the test.

However, there will be no changes to the English language or residency requirements for citizenship.

What kind of questions to expect?

Here are some examples of what possible questions can be like:-

· Should people in Australia make an effort to learn English?

· In Australia, are people free to choose who they marry or not marry?

Should people’s freedom of speech and freedom of expression be respected in Australia?
Do you agree that men and women should be provided equality of opportunity when pursuing their goals and interests?
In Australia, can you encourage violence against a person or group of people if you have been insulted?
Should people tolerate one another where they find that they disagree?

· Why is it important that all Australian citizens vote to elect the state and federal parliament?

· In Australia, do religious laws override Australian law?

These are only possible questions and may not reflect the actual questions on the citizenship test. The practice test with these questions has been released by The Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

What is the current scenario?

The Department of Home Affairs said that the processing of Citizenship applications has continued throughout the COVID Pandemic. There had been delays, but more than 84,000 people have become Australian Citizens via online ceremonies initiated by the Government despite the restrictions put in place.

Due to the Pandemic, In-person citizenship appointments and tests had to be halted for a few months, and online ceremonies were promoted instead, but now the Testing has been reinstated in all the States and Territories except Victoria.

Applications of around 159,000 applicants are still pending in the Australian Citizenship queue.