How the GCT-1 works
Since 30 June 2023 the General Competency Test: Level 1 has been used only as an alternative to a secondary school education requirement. If a job asks for a high school diploma and you do not have one, passing the GCT-1 counts instead. A pass on the older GIT-320 used the same way also still counts.
You sit it in person at a federal government building on the PSC’s Candidate Assessment Tool, with one question per screen, a numbered question list and free movement between questions until you submit. It is bilingual, and you can switch language at any time.
There are three types of question. Understanding written material gives you a short passage, usually a memo, and a question about it. Solving numerical problems asks for the answer to a practical maths problem. Drawing logical conclusions asks for the answer to a practical reasoning problem, such as applying a rule to a few cases. The PSC does not publish the mix.
How to approach the three question types
85 minutes for 50 questions is about 1 minute 42 seconds each:
- Memos: read the question first so you know what to look for, then read the memo. For “main purpose” questions, pick the option that covers the whole memo, not one detail.
- Numerical problems: write the steps down, then use the calculator. Discounts and taxes apply to the total unless the question says otherwise.
- Rules: check each case against every condition in the rule before you look at the answers. “Both” and “Neither” are real possibilities.
- Eliminate the least likely options first, then guess if you must. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.
Worked examples
Memo: “From 1 March, visitor parking passes must be requested through the online booking form at least one working day in advance. Passes will no longer be issued at the front desk.” The main purpose is to: (1) announce a change in how visitor passes are obtained, (2) reduce the number of visitors, (3) close the front desk, (4) introduce a new online system for staff. The answer is (1). Options 2 and 3 read too much into the memo, and option 4 describes something it does not say.
Numerical: an office orders 18 boxes of paper at $27.50 a box and gets 10% off the total. What does it pay? 18 × $27.50 = $495.00, and 10% off leaves $495.00 − $49.50 = $445.50.
Rule: travel claims are paid if they are submitted within 30 days of return and include a receipt for every expense over $50. Claim A was submitted after 25 days with receipts for a $60 hotel but none for a $40 meal. Claim B was submitted after 35 days with every receipt. A meets both conditions, because the $40 meal needs no receipt. B is too late. The answer is A only.
Tips for the real GCT-1
- Bring a calculator you know, as long as it is not part of a phone or a device that connects to the internet or records.
- Read rules word by word. “Over $50” and “$50 or more” give different answers.
- Mark slow questions for review and come back. The system does not remind you about blanks before you submit.
- Allow 20 to 30 minutes on top of the 85 for administration on the day.
- If you already hold a GCT-1 score of 28 or more, you do not need to retake it for this purpose.
Practise the GCT-1 on CogniPrep
Our GCT-1 is a full 50-question paper on an 85-minute clock, or a half paper of 25 questions in 43 minutes. It has about a third each of memos, numerical problems and rule questions, about half of the rule questions in the A only, B only, Both or Neither form, getting harder as it goes. You can move freely, mark questions for review and use a notepad and calculator. The full paper shows your score out of 50 next to the real pass mark of 28; the half paper reports a percentage. The questions are ours, not the PSC’s.