Citizenship test pass rates have plunged with both political parties blaming each other for the new low.
There were more than 100,000 failed citizenship tests between June 2022 and August 2023, new Department of Home Affairs data revealed.
Aspiring citizens have to achieve a mark of at least 75 per cent to pass the multiple choice test, which covers freedom of speech, democracy, rule of law, and Australian values.
The test was last updated by the Morrison government in 2020, which requires a person to answer five questions correctly on Australian values.
The surge in failed tests is linked with those 2020 changes and the introduction of an automatic fail if applicants cannot answer the values questions, according to The Australian.
Pass rates fell from 87 per cent in 2019 to 68 per cent in 2021 following the Coalition’s changes.
The pass rate has also fallen to 65 per cent under Labor.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of making a “mess of the entire migration system — including citizenship”.
Opposition immigration and citizenship spokesman Dan Tehan said the Labor government was not doing enough to educate aspiring citizens about Australian values and history.
“The Albanese government has been so busy rubberstamping visas they have neglected to teach new citizens what it means to be Australian,” he told The Australian.
“Labor are not investing in Australian values and Australian citizenship and this is the result, councils rejecting citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day and falling pass rates for the citizenship test.”