Advice, Documents, Or Legislation Relied Upon By The Department To State That English Is The National Language

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The Department of Home Affairs released advice regarding citizenship test content addressing whether English is Australia's national language. The disclosure confirms the Department relied on the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and the Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond resource booklet to support citizenship test questions. Specifically, subsection 21(2)(e) of the Act requires applicants aged 18-59 to demonstrate "basic knowledge of the English language" for citizenship by conferral, establishing a legislative expectation for English language competency. The Department clarified that test answer option (b) stating "There is no expectation to learn any particular language in Australia" is incorrect because the Act explicitly mandates basic English language proficiency as an eligibility requirement. The resource booklet, originally published in 2007 and redeveloped in 2009 by professional educators following a citizenship test review committee's recommendations, forms the basis for all test questions including practice materials.