Thousands of new Australians revealed to have repeatedly failed citizenship test in one year before being accepted – but could YOU pass the exam?
- Thousands of new Australians repeatedly failed the citizenship test in 2018
- The Government wants to introduce new laws to make it harder for applicants
- Official test practice questions are included below to see how you would fare
Over the Australia Day long weekend 16,212 people pledged allegiance to Australia in ceremonies all over the country.
Last year, however, it has been revealed that thousands of new Australians repeatedly failed the citizenship test before being allowed to pass it the same year.
In the 11 months from January to November last year 85,267 people applied to be Australian citizens and of these 4807 failed the test, according to The Courier Mail.
Over the Australia Day long weekend 16,212 people pledged allegiance to Australia in ceremonies all over the country (stock image)
Over 1200 of these people failed the test, which consists of 20 multiple choice questions, three times before passing it on their fourth attempt.
The 20 questions potential new citizens must answer, of which they need 15 correct to pass, are drawn from a pool of 75 at random.
If you are curious as to how you would fare, there are ten official practice questions below from the Department of Home Affairs below. Scroll to the bottom of the article for the answers.
There is currently legislation in the Senate put forward by Government that would ban those who fail the test three times from taking it again for two years.
Tony Burke, a spokesman on immigration for the opposition, has started an online petition to stop the new citizenship laws.
‘The Government’s new citizenship laws are unfair and seek to prevent a whole class of people who live here permanently from ever becoming citizens,’ the petition states.
‘The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government wants to change the citizenship laws by introducing an English test at an elitist university-entry level and stopping people from making a pledge of allegiance to Australia, even though they are living here permanently.’
Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia acting CEO Mohammad Al-Khafaji said the test was not reflective of a person’s commitment to Australia.
The 20 questions potential new citizens must answer, of which they need 15 correct to pass, are drawn from a pool of 75 at random
‘Questions like ‘Which part of the Australian flag bears the Commonwealth star?’ aren’t going to make anyone more worthy of the ultimate prize of citizenship,’ he told The Courier Mail.
‘I suspect that many Australians who were born here would also struggle to pass. Add on to that, English may not be your first language, or you have suffered torture and trauma from previous experiences or other undiagnosed mental health issues.’
The Government has previously said that allowing applicants to take the test multiple times until they pass defeated the purpose of the test.
Answers: 1a, 2a, 3c, 4b, 5a, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9c, 10a.