Alex Hall

My wife and I took our citizenship tests this afternoon and passed. While I am from the UK my wife is not however we both found it pretty straightforward so if anyone is having the jitters then do not panic, it is pretty straightforward.

We booked our tests over the phone and received the 'Becoming an Australian Citizen' book that you need to study before taking the test. This book is also available electronically from the Citizenship website (http://www.citizenship.gov.au/) and is A4 size and 48 pages covering the history, famous people and political aspects of Australia .

On booking our tests we received an email confirmation with all the details on what to bring, where to go, our reference numbers etc. From a timing perspective, we phoned to book in late September 2008 with the next available tests being late November in Newcastle or mid/late December in Sydney.

A couple of days before the test we had a phone call from the Citizenship people reminding/checking we were attending and also reminding us on what to bring (driving license, passport, birth certificate)

We went to Newcastle, NSW although we live in Sydney as it had a sooner date and we were keen to move things along. The people at Newcastle Centrelink, where we took the test, were friendly and helpful when we arrived and parking in a nearby multi-storey was easy.

You spend 10-15 minutes with them scanning your documents, e.g. passport, and checking some details on the computer, and then you are led into a room with around 10 PCs in it. On the PC you can run through a tutorial or jump straight into the test. There was no pressure to rush, as only myself and my wife were taking the test at that moment. The tutorial is not timed, however I skipped it as had already run through it on the Citizenship website.

The actual test has a time limit of 45 minutes and you have to answer 20 (pooled from 200) multiple choice questions. It took less than 5 minutes to answer them and just to ensure I hadn't been overly confident I ran through the questions/answers again before submitting the test. You get an instant notification on whether you have passed or failed.

To pass you need to correctly answer the 3 questions on the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship in addition to having a correct score of over 60%. My test result report had the following breakdowns:

• A story of Australia: 5 questions
• Governing the country: 5 questions
• Our Land, Our Nation: 4 questions
• Responsibilities & privileges of citizenship: 3 questions
• Australian Values: 3 questions

For studying, the most useful document to read is the Australian Citizenship Test Cramming Guide http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~jhua/article/citizenship.pdf and thanks to Jian Alan Huang for creating this.

As I am now eligible to apply I have submitted my citizenship application via the Internet and will post again once it has been processed. The entire process to date has been very painless (except I need to get another UK police security check due to not moving to Australia within 12 months of receiving the visa).

My advice to everyone is to read the Cramming Guide, phone to book your test 3-4 months prior to being eligible to citizenship and relax. You are allowed to take the test prior to being eligible which means you can move things along much quicker.

thanks and good luck

Alex

GSNR

Hi Alex,

Thanks for that info, we just booked out test yesterday for March, so I'm happy to get as much info as I can! I can't wait to do the test to get it over with, I'm already nervous, LOL

Thanks
Shelley

Grayling

I won't have to do it

G

comet555

Thanks for that Alex. I just called yesterday and booked ours for the first week of March. So the Brisbane test centre is booking about 2 months ahead. Only a couple of weeks for the Gold Coast though.

I like to see people do well on the test, I hope it's a piece of cake for me too.

Swerv-o

I'm just panicking about mine - All of the dates just seem to be swirling around in my head and attaching themselves to the wrong events! I just hope it isn't too date heavy...


S

comet555

Yes... me too!

I don't know why I'm nervous about it. I had lots of exams in University and I've given my share of tests while I was teaching.

I think in some ways it's all the comments like finished it in 3 minutes and got 100%. I keep thinking what if it takes me 30 minutes and I fail! Just a bit of panick I think! Definitely hope it doesn't have too many dates though!

Swerv-o

Yes - I think it's just that fear of failure! At least we speak English and have a reasonable understanding of how the country operates. I'm perfectly happy with the government and constitutions stuff - it's the completely unknown sports personalities the rest of the world has never heard of I am worried about. And what happened to Eddie Charlton? I was banking on him being one I had heard of!


S

Swerv-o

I thought I would just report back on my Citizenship Test. I took my test yesterday, and passed with full marks, which was nice.

I would say that the actual test is much easier than the sample ones you can do on the net. I suspect that they are deliberately hard to panic you into buying their revision pack and more sample tests.

Some of my question highlights were:

What is the Capital of Australia?
What year was the first federal government formed?
What sport would you associate The Ashes with?
What is the national anthem called?
Where were the 1956 olympics held?
what significant event in indigenous politics occurred in 1967?
What did the Mabo decision mean for indigenous populations?
Does a baby born overseas and registered as an Australian citizen have full citizen rights?
How are elections ballots conducted?

I can't remember any more right now. If I do, I will add them on to this list. I would suggest that anybody taking the test follows Alex's advice above - download the cramming sheet and read through it a couple of times. Many of the questions are just common sense.

There are three answers to choose from, and one is usually completely outrageous, and the other could be about right. Watch for some of the questions though, as a couple had some interesting double negatives in which could trip you up. Read the questions carefully and you should be fine!

Good luck!


S

DunRoaminTheUK

Are you already an Australian citizen?

GSNR

Hi S,

Thanks for that info, much appreciated. I'm doing my test in March, I'm worried about all the dates , were there many questions on dates?
Yes, I've noted that the test questions on-line are quite difficult.
Thanks again!!!

Cheers
Shelley

JAJ

I hope the "right" answer is no, because there is one difference ... an Australian citizen by descent must spent 2 years in Australia in order to be able to pass on Australian citizenship to the next generation born overseas.

ABCDiamond

Now you are confusing the issue

Reading the question carefully: "Does a baby born overseas and registered as an Australian citizen have full citizen rights?"
I think the answer will be yes, on the basis that the baby has already been registered as an Australian citizen.

If the question was: "Does a baby born overseas to Australian parents have full citizen rights?", then your answer would come into play. I think

moneypenny20

That's good. When I booked mine last Feb, the earliest I could get it on GC was May. However, I had the ceremony five weeks later so that was good.

Anyone who has their local centre with a long waiting list, if you find somewhere else that's got a shorter list, you can go there, it's only the ceremony you need to do in your council area.

Grayling

No but I will be over 60 when I apply........so don't have to take the test.

G

comet555

Somehow I wouldn't have guessed your close to 60 with that "Sexy Beast" Avatar, and the word Psychopathic under your name!