The test
Australian citizenship test pass mark, explained with your own score
Type a total and the number of values questions you got right: the calculator applies both rules and tells you which one decides.
Independent, non-government site: tests, applications and appointments are handled only on the Home Affairs website.
Did I pass the Australian citizenship test?
Result
Pass
| Overall | 16 of 20 (80%), 15 needed |
| Values questions | 5 of 5, all 5 needed |
| Why | Both rules met |
The pass mark of the Australian citizenship test is 75% overall, which on a test of 20 questions means 15 correct answers, and on top of that all 5 questions on Australian values must be right. The two conditions apply together and the values condition comes first: 19 out of 20 with one values mistake is a fail, while 15 out of 20 with all values questions right is a pass. So the most you can get wrong is 5 questions, all of them outside the values set. There is no partial credit, no weighting between parts and no negative marking for a wrong answer compared with a blank. The result appears on screen at the end of the test. Home Affairs set this rule for tests taken from 15 November 2020; before then the overall 75% alone decided. The calculator above checks any score in a second.
How many questions can I get wrong?
Still a pass?
Yes, 2 more mistakes allowed
| Mistakes allowed in total | 5, none on values |
| Your score | 17 of 20 |
| Rule broken | none |
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How questions and dates are built
Every passing and failing combination
| Correct answers | Values questions right | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 5 of 5 | pass |
| 15 | 5 of 5 | pass, no margin |
| 14 | 5 of 5 | fail on the overall mark |
| 19 | 4 of 5 | fail on values |
| 15 | 4 of 5 | fail on values |
Why two rules
The overall mark checks knowledge: of Australia and its people, of the democratic beliefs, rights and liberties Australians share, and of government and the law. The values rule checks something the department treats as non-negotiable: an understanding of and commitment to the values the pledge asks new citizens to uphold. A candidate can afford to forget the year of Federation or the colour of a flag. Home Affairs has decided a candidate cannot afford to misunderstand freedom of speech, equality between men and women or the rule of law.
How much margin to aim for
On the day, a question can be misread or a well-known fact can slip. A practice score exactly at 15 leaves no room for that. A sensible target is 17 or more on fresh practice tests, with no values mistake for several runs in a row. The second calculator on this page shows how many more mistakes you can afford from any position, which is a good way to see how thin a 15-point pass is.
What the screen shows
The test is taken on a computer or tablet and Home Affairs says the result is displayed when you finish. If it is a pass, the department carries on with the rest of the application. If not, it will offer another appointment; sitting again is free, and Home Affairs may refuse an application after 3 appointments without a pass. The page on failing explains how to prepare for the next attempt.
Common misreadings of the rule
Three mistakes come up often. The first is thinking the values questions are worth more points: they are not, they simply cannot be missed. The second is thinking there is a separate pass mark for each part of the booklet: there is not, the 15 other questions are pooled. The third is reading old material that gives the rule as 75% alone. That was the rule before 15 November 2020, and plenty of older guides and videos still describe it. If a practice resource does not report the values questions separately, it is marking with the old rule.
One more detail: the 5 values questions are part of the 20, not added to them. A full test is 20 questions long, of which 5 come from Part 4 of the booklet and 15 from the other three parts.
What share of tests are passed?
Home Affairs does not publish a regular pass rate. The most recent official figures we found are in a freedom of information release covering two financial years, all before the values rule took effect on 15 November 2020:
| Period | Tests passed | Tests failed | Share passed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 125,897 | 18,006 | 87.5% |
| 2019-20 (to 30 April 2020) | 123,848 | 22,869 | 84.4% |
These are attempts, not people: the department notes that most applicants who fail go on to pass at a later attempt. They also predate the rule that all 5 values questions must be right, so they say nothing about the test as it is marked today. Take them as a reminder that between one attempt in eight and one in six failed even then, and prepare for the stricter rule.
Practise with the real marking
Every full test on this site applies both rules: the free practice tests, the timed mock test and the test on the main test page. They always contain 5 values questions, report them separately and tell you which rule failed. To work on the values rule alone, the values questions page draws only from Part 4 of the booklet.