Australian Citizenship Test Pass Mark: The Rule That Catches People Out
14 January 2026
Most people preparing for the test know they need 75%. Fewer people clock that 75% alone isn't actually enough.
The Rule, Precisely
To pass, you need to meet both of the following, not just one:
- 15 or more correct answers out of 20 (75% or higher)
- All 5 of the Australian Values questions answered correctly
These are independent conditions. Meeting one doesn't compensate for missing the other.
Why This Trips People Up
It's entirely possible to score 19 out of 20, 95%, which sounds like a strong result by any normal grading standard, and still not pass, because one of those wrong answers happened to be one of the 5 values questions. Meanwhile, someone who answers every values question correctly but only scores 14/20 overall (70%) also doesn't pass, despite a perfect result on what feels like the "hardest" section.
Neither of these outcomes is a technicality or an edge case, they're exactly how the rule is designed to work. The values section isn't weighted into your overall percentage; it's a separate pass/fail gate layered on top of it.
What This Means for How You Prepare
It means treating the Australian Values section as its own study priority, not just "one of four roughly equal topics." Getting comfortable enough with that material that you're confident on all 5, every time, matters more than squeezing out a slightly higher score elsewhere.
Our mock test applies this exact rule, so you can see for yourself what a "95% but still not passing" result actually looks like before it happens on the real test, and more usefully, get enough reps on the values questions specifically that it doesn't.