Department of Immigration and Citizenship senior official, Andrew Metcalfe, has confirmed that would-be citizens should expect questions on Australia’s post-1788 religious heritage. Christian groups had lobbied the Government to acknowledge this background in its primer on what defines Australia and being Australian.

“I think without doubt you can ultimately trace our values and beliefs back to the body of knowledge that derives from the Old Testament and upon which the Judaeo-Christian background is based,” Mr Metcalfe recently told a hearing of the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

“We are talking about questions that go to Australia, our values, our history, our geography, our political system and national symbols,” Mr Metcalfe said. “Part of Australia, its values and its history would go to our belief system, so I imagine that that is an area that would be covered in the resource book.”

Much secrecy has surrounded the contents of the test prompting some criticism. Labor senator Annette Hurley claimed the secrecy had created “a bit of a climate of uncertainty for people who are considering citizenship”. The questions will come from a pool of about 200 confidential questions, drawn from information in the citizenship resource book.

The test will require applicants to answer 20 multiple-choice questions, including three that relate specifically to national values. While the test’s pass rate is 60 per cent, applicants must get all three “Australian values” questions right to pass. There is no limit to the number of times applicants can sit the test.