Is There an English Test for Australian Citizenship?

No. There is no separate English exam for Australian citizenship. The citizenship test is the English test: it is sat entirely in English, and passing it is how you show the basic knowledge of English the law asks for. You do not book an IELTS or PTE sitting for this, and no language score goes anywhere near your application.

That answer surprises a lot of people, because the visa you held before citizenship very likely did require a formal English test. Those are two different requirements at two different stages, and the citizenship stage is the gentler one. Here is what it actually asks of your English.

Do I need to pass an English test for Australian citizenship?

No. Home Affairs puts it plainly: most applicants aged 18 to 59 sit the citizenship test, and that test "will assess your English language skills and what you know about Australia". One test, doing both jobs at once.

So there is no certificate to chase and no score to reach. If you pass the citizenship test, the English requirement is met.

What level of English do you actually need?

Reading English, mainly. The test is 20 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes. You read a question, read four options, and click one. There is no writing or speaking task, and nobody assesses your accent.

The reading itself comes from one book, Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. Only Parts 1 to 4 are testable, which is about 40 pages of fairly plain language. If you can work through those 40 pages and understand them, you can pass.

The harder English is usually in the question wording rather than the facts. Questions use careful phrases like "within the law" or "reasonable efforts", and those small words decide the answer. That is why practice helps. You already know most of these facts. What you need is familiarity with how the questions are put together.

Look at the third option. That is the myth, sitting there as a wrong answer in our own question bank. What you actually agree to is making reasonable efforts to learn English. Nobody is marking you on it.

Can I take the Australian citizenship test in my own language?

No. The test is delivered in English only, and that is not negotiable.

Your study can happen in your own language, though. Home Affairs publishes Our Common Bond in a range of community languages, so you can read the material in the language you think in before you meet it in English. We do the same thing on our side: every question in our question bank can show a translation underneath the English in ten languages, including Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, Urdu, Persian and Tamil. The English always stays on screen, because the English is what you will face on test day.

Can I use an interpreter for the citizenship test?

Not for the test. You can usually have one for the interview.

The appointment has two parts, and the rules differ between them:

Part of the appointment	Interpreter allowed?
Identity interview with an officer	Yes, Home Affairs can arrange one if you ask in advance
The 20-question computer test	No, the test is English only

A family member or another person can also come with you to the appointment, which is worth knowing if the day feels daunting.

Who does not have to sit the test at all?

Some applicants skip the test entirely and go straight to an interview. They still make the pledge, and they still become citizens the same way.

Situation	Sit the test?	Still attend an interview?
Aged 60 or over when Home Affairs receives your application	No	Yes
Under 18	No	Yes
Permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity	No, with a registered Australian practitioner's report	Yes

If you are applying on behalf of a parent who is over 60, this is usually the detail that matters most to them: there is no test, and an interpreter can be arranged for the interview.

Were you thinking of the visa English test?

Most people searching for an English test for Australian citizenship are remembering something real, just from an earlier stage. Skilled visas and many other visa pathways do require a formal English score, and that is where IELTS and PTE Academic come in. Competent English, the usual benchmark, is IELTS 6.0 in each band or the equivalent PTE Academic result. Home Affairs lists the accepted tests and current scores on its English language visa requirements page. Check the numbers there rather than in an older article, because PTE changed to per-skill minimum scores in August 2025.

If that is the stage you are at, what you need is exam practice, not citizenship study. You can find PTE and IELTS practice tests at Leap Exam, which are free to start and score reading and listening as soon as you finish, with written feedback on speaking and writing. Come back here when the visa is sorted and citizenship is next.

By the time you reach the citizenship stage, that requirement is behind you. Nobody asks to see your IELTS or PTE certificate a second time.

Wasn't Australia going to bring in a harder English test?

It was proposed, and it did not happen. A 2017 bill would have required IELTS Band 6 before you could even lodge a citizenship application. It met heavy opposition, was struck off the Senate notice paper after missing its deadline, and a softer Band 5 version floated afterwards never became law either.

The test you will sit is the one introduced in November 2020: 20 questions, 45 minutes, 15 correct to pass, and all 5 Australian values questions correct. No English exam attached.

If English is your second language, start here

Two things help more than anything else, and both are free.

Get the language support you are entitled to. The Adult Migrant English Program gives eligible migrants free English tuition with no cap on hours, at around 300 locations across Australia, with free childcare for pre-school children at face-to-face classes. Many people who qualify never find out it exists.

Get used to how the questions are worded. Work through one section at a time with our free chapter tests so the vocabulary stops being unfamiliar. When a section feels comfortable, sit a full mock test under real conditions: 20 questions, 45 minutes, no notes. Your score tells you where to go back to.

Give yourself longer than a confident English speaker would. Two to four weeks at twenty minutes a day is plenty for most people. Read the explanation after every answer, even the ones you get right. It teaches you the fact and the phrasing at the same time.

One last reassurance. The pass rate sits near 65 per cent per sitting, but over 95 per cent of applicants pass eventually, and re-sits are free. Failing a sitting does not touch your permanent residency. Plenty of people who were anxious about their English passed first go, because they sat down and read the booklet properly.

This article is a study aid and general information only, not immigration advice. Rules, fees and processing times change. Always confirm current requirements with the Department of Home Affairs.