'Fairer' test for citizenship

Sir Donald Bradman has been hit for six as the federal government began a fairer and more relevant Australian citizenship test yesterday.

Potential new citizens will be quizzed on their understanding of their civic duty and responsibilities of citizenship rather than facing questions about Australia's sporting heroes. The Don will get a mention as the "greatest cricketer of all time" but there won't be any questions about him.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said an independent review of the old citizenship test last year found that it could be improved by focusing on the pledge of commitment.

"The new test is not a general knowledge quiz about Australia," Senator Evans said.

"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."

Potential citizens will need to answer 75 per cent or 15 of the 20 questions correctly to pass.

All questions are equally important and a person can no longer answer 19 out of 20 questions correctly and fail because one of the three mandatory questions was incorrectly answered.

Topics include the significance of Anzac Day, the role of the governor-general, laws and government, and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

A course is also being developed to help disadvantaged people who, because of limited literacy and schooling, may struggle with a computer-based test.

- AAP