The Turnbull Government is tightening the screws on immigration.
Its new citizenship test will place a huge emphasis on what the Government is calling Australia's shared values and responsibilities.
It will include questions like, "Is it permissible to force children to marry?" and, "Under what circumstances can you strike your spouse in the privacy of your own home?"
Under newly announced changes to the citizenship requirements, anyone who fails the test three times will have to wait another two years before taking it again.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has emphasised what he calls Australian values.
"This is about strengthening the Australian values which are at the heart of citizenship, of being an Australian citizen. Australian citizenship should be honoured, cherished ... it is a privilege. And when people apply to be Australian citizens, they honour us, of course, because they're offering to join our Australian family. But, equally, it's important that they understand that they are making a commitment to our Australian values."
Permanent residents will face a longer wait, too.
The current requirement to sit the citizenship test is only one year of permanent residency.
That will now go up to four years.
The idea is residents can prove they have tried to integrate into and contribute to Australian society by working, becoming part of community groups and sending their children to school.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has detailed the changes to the English-language requirement.
"There's a significant change in relation to the English-language requirement, which, at the moment, is basic. We increased that to IELTS level 6 equivalent. So that is at a competent English-language proficiency level. And I think there would be wide support for that as well."
Currently, the test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, with the pass mark at 75 per cent.
On average, more than 13,000 people from more than 200 countries become Australian citizens each year.
But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has told the ABC the Government's changes are more about Mr Turnbull than for the good of the country.
"Mr Turnbull's just trying to save his own job. See, for Labor, this is not a new issue. We said before the last election there were rorts in the visa system. We said before the last election more needed to be done on apprenticeships. Now we've seen nothing done on those matters since the last election. The only thing which Malcolm Turnbull's worried about is keeping his unhappy backbench from rolling him. It's a very divided Government."
But former prime minister Tony Abbott's ex-chief of staff, Peta Credlin, says she believes Mr Shorten will be worried about Mr Turnbull's move.
She has told Sky News it is a move which puts the Opposition in a difficult position.
"Anytime the Coalition is talking about immigration, it puts Labor on the back foot. It makes Bill Shorten question his own loyal supporters, because many of the Left in his caucus, as you know, are not strong on this issue. And it makes Labor play defensive, as opposed to offensive, which they've played for most of the year."
