A new citizenship test has been unveiled by the Australian Government for applicants wishing to apply for an Australian visa. The new test would be taken by Australian visa holders who wish to apply for citizenship has been launched from today, October 20th. Migrants who want to become Australian citizens will have to be able to correctly identify the country’s prime minister and national flower, according to the new draft citizenship test. Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said, “The aim of the test is to get that balance between diversity and integration correct in future". The prospective citizen will have to give a correct answer to 12 out of 20 questions - drawn from a total of about 200. The new citizenship test is expected to be introduced later this year.
According to Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the new test is much simpler and fairer than the previous test. Some of the questions have been changed and even removed keeping in mind that all the questions should be given equal weight in terms of marks. The test would challenge the applicant’s knowledge of Australian history and existing norms. It is specially designed to test Australian visa holders and prospective citizens about their knowledge of general Australian civics and the privileges and responsibilities of becoming an Australian citizen. The questions would cover some of the political subjects like government, laws and democratic beliefs. A few example of the multi choice questions published on the DIAC website include:
1. Which of these is a responsibility of Australian citizens aged 18 years or over?a) To attend local council meetingsb) To vote in electionsc) To have a current Australian passport2. What is the name of the legal document that sets out the rules for the government of Australia?a) The Australian Federationb) The Australian Commonwealthc) The Australian Constitution
All the test questions are taken from the revised citizenship resource book called the Australian citizenship: Our Common Bond. To apply for a citizenship, applicants can check the revised book to prepare for the test. Speaking about the test Senator Evans said, "The new test is not a general knowledge quiz about Australia. We want people applying for citizenship to understand the values of Australian society, our democratic beliefs, our rights and our system of law and what it means to be an Australian citizen. All prospective citizens should understand those concepts so all of the questions in the new citizenship test focus on the commitments that new citizens make in the pledge.''
_________________________________
By varsha negi
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment