Score Breakdown
The NAATI CCL test consists of two dialogues, each worth 45 marks. Each dialogue contains approximately 300 words, split into segments of up to 35 words.
Dialogue Structure
Pass Requirements
To pass NAATI CCL, you must meet both of these criteria:
Overall Score: 63+ out of 90
This is approximately 70% overall
Minimum 29 marks in EACH dialogue
You cannot compensate a weak dialogue with a strong one
Important: Even if your total is 63+, scoring below 29 in either dialogue means you fail. For example, 40 + 24 = 64 total, but you would fail because one dialogue is below 29.
What NAATI Assesses
NAATI's published assessment areas are accuracy, language quality and delivery. Marks are deducted according to how much an error affects communication.
What Is Assessed
- • Accuracy: meaning, completeness, numbers, dates and names
- • Language quality: grammar, vocabulary and register
- • Delivery: starting within five seconds of the chime
- • Delivery: avoiding long pauses and repeated corrections
- • Direct (first-person) speech
What Is Not Required
- • Word-for-word translation
- • Matching one reference wording
- • Avoiding every commonly used English word (see NAATI's language policy)
- • Never correcting yourself (a correction with an explanation is permitted)
- • Never asking for a repeat (one per dialogue without penalty)
Error Types and Deductions
NAATI deducts marks according to how much an error affects communication. It does not publish a fixed deduction for each error type. The groups below are a practical way to review your practice, not NAATI's categories or deduction amounts.
Errors That Change or Lose Meaning
- Complete omission - Leaving out important information entirely
- Meaning change - Conveying the opposite or significantly different meaning
- Addition - Adding information not in the original
- Number/date errors - Getting quantities, dates, or times wrong
Language Quality Issues
- Grammar errors - Errors that make your meaning less clear
- Imprecision - Vague or approximate rendering
- Register issues - Too casual or inappropriate tone
Delivery Issues
- Not starting within five seconds of the chime, or long pauses
- Repeated corrections (a correction with a brief explanation is permitted)
- More than one segment repeat per dialogue
Score Scenarios
Both dialogues above 29, total above 63. Success!
Exactly 63, both dialogues above 29. Narrow pass!
Total is 64, but Dialogue 2 is below 29. Failed despite good total.
Both dialogues meet minimum, but total is below 63.
Tips to Maximize Your Score
Never skip information - An omission can lose part of the speaker's meaning
Get numbers right - Write them in your notes as you hear them
Match the register - Keep the speaker's level of formality and use direct speech
Practice with feedback - You need to know what errors you are making
Correct carefully - NAATI permits a correction with an explanation, but repeated corrections can lose marks
Practise with AI Feedback
PassNaati transcribes your recorded interpretation and suggests where meaning or language may have changed. Scores are practice estimates, not NAATI marks, and a transcript cannot assess your delivery.