The government of Australia has recently began the implementation of its new citizenship test.
According to a release published in workpermit.com, the Australian government’s new set of twenty multiple choice questions are just as difficult as the previous set.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), in its official website, said that the test will be as rigorous as the old one, to “assess whether clients have a basic level of English and have an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.”
However, the government said that it is fairer, with each question given equal weight. DIAC announced: “[T]he mandatory questions have been removed giving equal weight to every question in the test. Under the old test, if a client failed any one of the three mandatory questions they failed the test. This means that a client could have got 19 out of 20 questions correct but still failed the test if the question they answered incorrectly happened to be a mandatory question.”
Other key changes are questions being rewritten in plain English, removal of mandatory questions, and increasing of pass mark from 60 percent to 75 percent.
Some of the areas covered in the test are Australia’s democratic beliefs, laws and government, the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, and Australian history and culture. It will also be based on the Australian Citizenship Pledge that new Australians make when becoming citizens.
The testable section of the citizenship test resource book “Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond” contains all the information needed to prepare for the test and can be obtained by phoning the department on 131 880. Practice test are also available in some websites such as http://australiancitizenshiptest.net/.
The new citizenship test can be taken in the same location in all 13 department offices, 30 Medicare offices and 4 centrelink offices across Australia.
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