If Australia lowers the standards of the test, then Australia lowers the quality of immigrants. Not only will this be a disservice to Australia and those who live there, but also a disservice for those who wish to immigrate there.

Having never seen an Australian citizenship test, I wouldn't know how that particular test should be modified, but in general, I think citizenship tests should be kept down to testing essential knowledge for living and being productive in the country (i.e. Currency; Language; Basic historical background as is relevant to current events; etc.). Perhaps offer extra credit for knowing things like the national anthem or the names of significant figures in the country's history, but configuring the test so that such knowledge is essential to gaining citizenship would be akin to making patriotism mandatory, which is, in my humble opinion, something of an abuse on the part of the government, and configuring the test so that an applicant can pass with *Just* that sort of knowledge would be negligent. Overall, the key question that needs to be addressed in the construction of a citizenship test is, "What should we expect out of a responsible, productive citizen?" Because beyond that, nothing much else matters in a practical sense.

No, it is heavily weighted on age and income. You can basically buy your way into citizenship of most countries. 8 years ago it was 250K USD.

leave the test as is ...if they cannot pass its their fault ...study the bloody thing and all the answers are printed for them in close to 30 languages as well ....shit the test is a piece of cake .... the bloody car licence test is harder than this test and they will make sure they get one of those ... so no sorry leave it the way it is if they fail ...their problem

I think it should be harder. Applicants should be able to speak good English since they're coming to an English speaking country. I'm fine with people from any country coming to Australia and support multiculturalism - however I do not believe in people who aren't educated properly coming in so they can utilize the dole. If they speak good English and have plenty of knowledge, then they're more likely to be getting a job.

I think that it is important to be mindful of why the test was implemented in the first place. The citizenship test was not only aimed at making sure that migrants knew basic facts of Australian history, that have made this great country into what it is today, it was also designed to motivate new migrants to learn basic information that would increase their chances of successful assimilation and understanding of the mechanics of our society. The test was not generated to make them fail, it was implemented to set a precedent of basic information neccessary to be able to actively interact within the Australian Society. The problem with that statement is that i am assuming that it is the intention of migrants to assimilate and intergrate into the pre-existing social framework of Australia and not intend on forming their own society with no intention or desire of "fitting in". I am into reciprical relationships. I wish to see our ethnic counterparts provide welfare, housing and health for all migrating Australian to their countries, oops they don't have welfare, housing or health services for their own people,thats why they are comming here, to the lucky country! Lucky for them! To qualify for this prize, which amounts to a decent future for them and their family, is it too hard to pass one darn test? I think not. If they are not motivated to do so, you have picked the wrong country.

think that it is important to be mindful of why the test was implemented in the first place. The citizenship test was not only aimed at making sure that migrants knew basic facts of Australian history, that have made this great country into what it is today, it was also designed to motivate new migrants to learn basic information that would increase their chances of successful assimilation and understanding of the mechanics of our society. The test was not generated to make them fail, it was implemented to set a precedent of basic information neccessary to be able to actively interact within the Australian Society. The problem with that statement is that i am assuming that it is the intention of migrants to assimilate and intergrate into the pre-existing social framework of Australia and not intend on forming their own society with no intention or desire of "fitting in". I am into reciprical relationships. I wish to see our ethnic counterparts provide welfare, housing and health for all migrating Australian to their countries, oops they don't have welfare, housing or health services for their own people,thats why they are comming here, to the lucky country! Lucky for them! To qualify for this prize, which amounts to a decent future for them and their family, is it too hard to pass one darn test? I think not. If they are not motivated to do so, you have picked the wrong country.

Don't you think the reason is actually: Those people are not educated. Highly educated people don't come to Australia. They go to USA, Europe and Canada. In Australia, Master Degree is a guanrantee of no first-job-in-life. PHD is a one-way ticket to a teaching position. In USA,financial professionals can earn anywhere from 100,000 to 1 million dollars per year, compare with $60,000-90,000 in Australia (Plumbers earn $40,000 in Aus). Blue collar workers come to Australia. The new immigrants can even hardly read newspaper in their native languages, let alone in English!